…Warns Against Violence, Vote Buying
As Ekiti State gears up for the June 20 governorship poll, civil society organization Yiaga Africa has disclosed plans to deploy 272 observers across the state to monitor the election.
The organisation will make use of a technology platform known as Process and Results Verification for Transparency to track the credibility of the poll.
Speaking during a Civil Society and Media Roundtable discussion held in Ado-Ekiti, the Head of Knowledge Management and Learning at Yiaga Africa, Safiya Bichi, said the organization would deploy 250 stationary observers across 250 sample polling units, as well as 22 roving observers moving from one polling unit to another.
Bichi explained that the observers would monitor the deployment of sensitive election materials, voting processes, vote counting, collation and results management.
The team lead added that the organization would also monitor the upload of election results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) through its Election Result Verification Dashboard system.
Speaking on the purpose of the engagement, Bichi said the programme was organized to foster collaboration among stakeholders ahead of the election and to identify critical areas requiring intervention.
According to her, the roundtable was designed to create a platform for strategic dialogue, information sharing and knowledge exchange between civil society organizations and the media in preparation for the governorship poll.
She also called on political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other contenders, to conduct their campaigns and participate in the election peacefully.
Bichi equally tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to maintain professionalism and ensure a credible electoral process.
Her words: “Yiaga Africa will deploy 250 stationary observers to sample polling units across the 16 local government areas of the state. We will also observe collation processes at the local government and state levels.
“In addition, we will deploy 22 roving observers across all the local government areas. Our observers will monitor the deployment of sensitive materials to Registration Area Centres (RACs), opening of polls, voting, counting, collation and result management processes.
“For INEC, our message is to be professional and improve on logistics. The commission must ensure proper implementation of the Electoral Act and its guidelines.
“For security agencies, we expect professionalism, neutrality and adequate protection for voters, election officials, observers, journalists and political actors throughout the electoral process.
“Political parties should shun violence and encourage their supporters to do the same. Elections are not a do-or-die affair. Citizens must be allowed to participate freely and peacefully.
“Our message to voters, especially young people, is to come out and vote. If you do not vote, someone else will decide on your behalf. We must reject the narrative that votes do not count.
“If votes did not count, politicians would not be interested in buying them. People should vote according to their conscience and contribute to strengthening democracy.”
On his part, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti State Council, Kayode Babatuyi, pledged that the union would intensify efforts to combat fake news and clamp down on quack journalists during the election period.
Babatuyi, who commended Yiaga Africa for organizing the pre-election engagement, described the media as a critical stakeholder in ensuring a transparent and credible electoral process.
The Chairman urged journalists to uphold the ethics of the profession and use their platforms responsibly in the interest of democracy.
He said: “We appreciate Yiaga Africa for this initiative. As media practitioners, we must utilise our platforms to support credible elections because the media remains a critical stakeholder in the electoral process.
“We also call on INEC to justify the confidence reposed in it by members of the public. Although the Ekiti governorship election is an off-cycle poll, the entire country is watching because it serves as a test case ahead of future elections.
“Ekiti NUJ is confronting fake news and quack journalism head-on. We have set up a special task force to go after fake journalists in the state.
“Although accreditation was done online, there will also be physical verification at the NUJ Secretariat for about three days. INEC officials and NUJ representatives will jointly screen applicants.
“Anyone found not to be a bona fide journalist will not be issued accreditation materials required for election coverage. Much of what we are seeing now is the abuse of social media, often by non-journalists. We have continued to educate the public not to believe everything they see online without verification.
“If a report cannot be verified through credible and traditional media platforms, people should approach it with caution.”
A participant and Executive Director of Disability Not A Barrier Initiative (DINABI), Olajide Funsho Benjamin, called on Persons Living With Disabilities (PWDs) to shun voter apathy and come out en masse to vote for the candidate of their choice.
“I want to encourage Persons Living With Disabilities to come en masse to vote for the candidate of their choice. INEC promised to deploy assistive materials for us such as Braille ballot guides, magnifying glasses and priority voting arrangements,” he added.
Security experts note that Ekiti’s off-cycle election often serves as a litmus test for INEC and political parties ahead of general elections, making transparency and credibility crucial for public confidence.
Yiaga Africa also warned against vote buying, vote selling and other electoral malpractices, urging voters to resist inducement and report suspicious activities to observers and security agencies on election day.
