The Civil Society Organisations on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiative (CSCHEI), which coordinated the INEC-accredited election observation exercise, and other participating civil society groups have commended the conduct of the Osun State governorship election.
In a communique made available to journalists on Sunday, it described the process as largely peaceful and orderly while raising concerns over isolated cases of vote buying, late commencement of polls and BVAS malfunction in some locations.
The observers said they deployed 197 trained and non-partisan observers across the 30 local government areas of the state to monitor the pre-election, election-day and post-election processes. They said their assessment was based on the Electoral Act 2022, INEC guidelines and international best practices.
Presenting their preliminary observations in Osogbo, the observers, led by Team Lead, Kunle Yusuff, commended INEC for improved logistics and early deployment of personnel and election materials to most polling units.
They also praised the functionality of the BVAS and IReV systems, while commending the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies for maintaining a largely peaceful electoral environment.
The observers noted that voter turnout was encouraging across several polling units, with many voters conducting themselves peacefully and orderly throughout the voting process.
They also observed the presence of political party agents in most polling units, saying their participation contributed to the transparency and monitoring of the exercise.
However, the observers urged INEC and security agencies to investigate reported cases of vote buying, technical challenges and delayed commencement of voting.
They also called on political parties and candidates to maintain peace and seek constitutional means to address grievances, while recommending stronger collaboration between INEC and traditional rulers, who they said helped resolve potential conflicts in some local government areas.
They further called on INEC to ensure timely transmission and collation of results and address the technical challenges recorded during the exercise.
Security agencies were urged to remain professional and neutral while continuing to protect voters, electoral officials and election materials throughout the remaining stages of the process.
Other civil society groups that jointly signed the preliminary observations with CSCHEI included the Advocacy for Quality Leadership and Health Awareness Foundation, Grassroot Development and Peace Initiative, Centre for Grassroot Development and Crime Prevention, Initiative for Awareness of Civic Education of Citizens, Centre for Social Value and Early Childhood Development, New Dimension Network for Peace Initiative, Conscience Women of Africa Initiative, Committee of Youth on Mobilisation and Sensitisation, Women’s Right and Peace Protection Initiative for Africa, Women Fest for Better Life Initiative, Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Communities Initiative, Amazon Women Substance Foundation, Sonia Initiative for Sustainable Development, The People’s Care and Advocacy Initiative, Immaculate Initiative for Peace, Northern Patriotic Front, Northern Socio Cultural Initiative, Your Vote Is Your Voice Africa Initiative, Patriotic Women Foundation, Women and Youth Development, Africa Women for Unity Social and Cultural Organisation, United Nigeria Peace Foundation, Young Generation Vocational Empowerment Initiative, Initiative for Peace, Humanity and Social Advancement for Women, Citizens Right for Peace and Non-Violence Initiative, Right Way for Women and Youth in Africa, Network of Men with Disability, Armstrong Leadership Capacity Development Initiative, Supports for Civil Society Organisations Initiative, and Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens.
The observers said they would release a comprehensive final report after the conclusion of the entire electoral process.
They described the peaceful participation of Osun voters as an important contribution to the strengthening of democratic practice in Nigeria and urged all stakeholders to sustain the peaceful atmosphere beyond the election.
The observers also called on political parties, candidates, supporters and other stakeholders to respect the outcome of the electoral process and use lawful and constitutional channels to pursue any grievances that may arise, stressing that the credibility of democracy depends not only on the conduct of elections but also on the willingness of stakeholders to respect established institutions and procedures.
