Following the announcement of the Presidential results, in the early hours of the morning, YIAGA Watching the Vote, PVT has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide clarification on the cancelled ballots and the Discrepancies between registered voters as announced before the election and during collation.
The Group made the call while briefing the Media on the 2019 presidential election results, noting that the clarity may not necessarily affect the overall outcome of the elections.
According to the Chair, YIAGA Africa Watching The Vote, Dr Hussaini Abdu, “Overall, the percentage of cancelled ballots announced by INEC was 3.3% of all registered voters which is four times higher than the rate from 2015 when registered voters in cancelled polling units was less than 1% of all registered votes”.
“He noted that states which recorded the cancellation of ballots exceeding 4% of registered voters included Rivers (22.7%), Nasarawa (9.5%), Akwa Ibom
(8.5%), Cross River (8.0%), Plateau (5.7%), Kogi (5.2%), Benue (4.9%), and Kaduna (4.7%).
“In Rivers State,a total of 942, 368 ballots were cancelled or more than a quarter of registered voters, while In Nasarawa State, it is evident that the cancellation of ballots affected the election outcome for that state, though not the national results as it disenfranchised a very significant number of voters in the state”
He stated that according to the PVT estimates, Prior to cancellations , PDP had a majority of the votes share in Nasarawa and after the cancellations PDP and APC had relatively equal vote shares”
He however assured that the overall number of cancelled ballots could not have changed the election outcome and should not call into question the accuracy of the announced results.
Dr Abdullah also noted the discrepancies between registered voters as announced before the election and during collation, noting that Prior to the February 23, 2019, INEC clearly communicated that 84,004,084 voters were registered and publicized state by state breakdowns of this figure.
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He however alleged that “the number of registered voters announced by the state returning officers at the national collation centre did not align with the figures published before the election”
He said “The overall number of registered voters as announced dropped by 1,659,959 voters for a total of 82,344,125 registered voters” However, noting that the, WTV observers reported that the number of registered voters at sampled polling units were overwhelmingly consistent with the polling unit level registration figures provided by INEC on the register with 84,004,084 registrants”
The Group called on the Commission, to undertake a public investigation into the cancelation of ballots in Nasarawa State and to take appropriate legal actions should it be discovered that any INEC staff cancelled ballots with intent to affect the election outcome.
YIAGA Africa in it’s recommendation stressed the need for Imperative of Post-Election Review/Audit noting that the challenges experienced during the
elections calls for a detailed and systematic post-election review which includes an inquiry into the cancellation of ballots, an audit of the voter register and a review of the Elections operation management systems.
It also called on political parties, all candidates and the good people of Nigeria to show political maturity and maintain peace in the post-election period.
It urged all parties to adhere to
legal provisions for filing electoral claims and disputes and also called upon the Election Tribunals to adjudicate claims in a timely manner and to make the outcomes available to the public.
YIAGA Africa also called for the Prosecution of Electoral Offenders and tasked security agencies to remain vigilant in protecting and securing lives and property in the post -election phase with the announcement of the
Presidential election results.
The Group also tasked the government to ensure Comprehensive Electoral Reform noting that the 2019 elections revealed challenges in the electoral
process which calls for a review of the Legal framework for Elections which includes further review of the electoral guidelines regulating the cancellation of votes at polling units.
It also tasked the INEC to sustain public engagement to boost public confidence and sustain its daily stakeholders briefing on its preparedness for the March 9 Governorship and State Assembly elections.
