…Says it’s a Reflection of People’s Will
…Flags minor BVAS glitches, delays
A coalition of civil society organisations, Network of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria, has thumbed up the conduct of the Saturday Enugu North Senatorial District by-election, describing the exercise as peaceful and transparent.
The coalition, however, noted glitches recorded with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and delays in election logistics.
It is recalled that the election was won by Chief Ikeje Asogwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled a total of 162,360 votes to defeat with a wide margin his closest rival, Nestor Ezeme, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 9,299 votes.
Making its observations on the election known to newsmen in Enugu on Monday, the Network’s spokesperson, Abubakar Musa, flanked by members of the observer groups, said the bye-election represented “a vital step towards transparent election.”
According to Musa, the observer groups participated in various stages of the electoral process, including the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive materials and the deployment of electoral officers, noting that the election was conducted as scheduled.
The coalition disclosed that seven political parties – All Progressives Congress (APC), Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Boot Party (BP), Labour Party (LP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria Democratic Party (NDC) and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) – participated in the exercise across the six Local Government Areas, covering 102 electoral wards with 727,340 registered voters and 184,094 accredited voters.
“The election was conducted in accordance with INEC guidelines and all relevant laws,” he stated, adding that election materials were adequately distributed across polling units.
The coalition lauded the security agencies for maintaining order throughout the exercise, stressing that vote counting and collation were conducted in the presence of party agents and security personnel.
The observers, however, noted that some polling units experienced delays due to technical glitches and late arrival of election materials and personnel.
“There was in some few areas report of malfunction of Biomodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in some polling units, which caused the delay of accreditation and voting in such polling units.
“None of our observers reported any shortage of voting materials in the polling units visited,” the communiqué added.
The civil society groups recommended that the Independent National Electoral Commission perfect the performance of BVAS machines ahead of the 2027 general elections and strengthen its logistics framework to guarantee the timely commencement of voting in all polling units.
The coalition also urged security agencies to ensure more strategic deployment of personnel, observing that there was greater concentration of officers in urban centres than in remote communities.
While applauding INEC for conducting what it described as a peaceful and transparent election, the Network hailed the Enugu State Government for providing a conducive environment for the exercise.
The coalition concluded by appealing to all candidates and their supporters to accept the outcome of the bye-election, insisting that it reflected the will of the people.
“Finally, we appeal to all the candidates and their supporters to accept the outcome of the election as it reflects the will of the people,” Musa said.
He reaffirmed the commitment of accredited civil society organisations to promoting credible democratic processes.
