Opposition knocks INEC, protests vote-buying, glitches

 

Opposition knocks INEC, protests vote-buying, glitches

Opposition parties on Sunday faulted the conduct of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State and a series of by-elections across the country, alleging widespread vote-buying, ballot irregularities and administrative lapses by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

While acknowledging improvements in logistics and the largely peaceful nature of the polls, the opposition parties said recurring allegations of vote-buying, omissions on ballot papers and concerns over electoral transparency raised questions about the commission’s preparedness for future elections.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Osa Director, said the Ekiti governorship election was devoid of violence but marred by allegations of vote-buying and other irregularities.

“Although the Ekiti election was violence-free, it was marred by allegations of vote buying. I don’t know why INEC allowed people to get away with vote buying right under the watch of its officials.

“Again, I don’t know how some persons were also in possession of voters’ cards that don’t belong to them. That also begs the question of how they managed to access it.

“These are inadequacies and lapses that must be corrected before the 2027 General Elections.

I just hope they can also use this as an opportunity to test-run their capacity and level of preparedness for the next poll.

“Their conduct at the Ekiti governorship poll and by-elections in other states was also an indication of what may happen in 2027.

“As I said, I hope the noticeable lapses can be corrected to ensure we have a fair, free and credible election next year,” he said.

Similarly, the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, Rufus Aiyenigba, acknowledged what he described as improvements in election logistics but accused INEC of undermining confidence in the process.

“On a general note, there was a remarkable improvement in logistics movement. But the rampant vote-buying was a dent in the integrity of the election.

“Also, the deliberate shutting out of the SDP, by way of not allowing for the uploading of the names of party agents for the election, rendered the election a nullity.

“Nigerian citizenry must rise up and resist the deliberate breach of the faith and trust of the people in our electoral processes and outcomes, occasioned by the unholy pact of administrators of our elections with anti-democratic agents.

“Nigeria cannot survive the shenanigans we are currently witnessing in our democratic journey,” Aiyenigba stated.

The Labour Party also expressed reservations over the conduct of the Enugu North Senatorial District by-election.

According to the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, the election recorded both positive and negative outcomes.

“The election presented a mixed record of commendable performance and significant oversights on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“In Enugu North Senatorial District, where I participated and monitored the exercise, INEC deserves credit for ensuring the orderly conduct of the poll. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System also performed satisfactorily in accrediting voters.

“However, the experience was markedly different for the Labour Party. The party’s name was omitted from the ballot paper, a serious oversight with far-reaching implications.

“Such an omission risks the outright cancellation of the entire poll in the district, as it effectively disenfranchised a substantial number of our supporters,” he said.

The opposition parties’ complaints followed similar protests in some of the by-elections conducted across the country on Saturday.

In Nasarawa North Senatorial District, Labour Party candidate and former Information Minister, Labaran Maku, rejected the outcome of the election won by the APC candidate, Danladi Envulu-anza.

Maku described the exercise as a “sham” and alleged widespread irregularities, including BVAS failures, ballot manipulation and interference by government officials. He called on INEC to cancel the election and conduct a fresh poll.

Also in Rivers State, candidates of the Labour Party and Action Alliance rejected the outcome of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election won by PDP candidate Olaka Nwogu.

The candidates alleged logistical failures, vote-buying and manipulation of results, while threatening legal action against INEC and other parties involved in the contest.