By Mark Erabor
BENIN-CITY/Nigeria: Election Observers in the just concluded Edo State governorship election has rated the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC very high over its efforts to conduct an election believed to be free, fair and credible to a reasonable extent.
Program Manager, Center for Transparency Advocacy, a Civil Society Organization, Mr. MacDonald Ekemezie stated this while addressing Newsmen shortly after the end of the September 19, Edo Governorship elections in Benin-city.
Mr. Ekemezie who decried reports of vote buying in some polling centers during the elections said such ugly trend does possess great danger to elections credibility in the country.
He berated lack of compliance to the NCDC Convid-19 protocols in some polling Units visited.
While commending INEC for showing capacity in improvement in Managing elections in Nigeria, he called all on stakeholders to continue to maintain law and orders and act in compliance with the electoral act.
In another development Yiaga Africa however urged all the political parties, their candidates and all those who participated in the just concluded governorship election in Edo State, to have confidence the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The group said this, after the declaration of candidate of the PDP, Governor Godwin Obaseki, as winner of the election by INEC.
A statement endorsed by Ezenwa Nwagwu and Dr. Aisha Abdullahi Co-Chairmen, Yiaga Africa WTV Working Group, explained that the result declared by the electoral umpire was consistent with its Parallel Vote Tabulation Estimate.
According to the citizen-led group, APC should receive between 39.1% and 46.3% of the vote, while the PDP should receive between 52.5% and 59.7% of the vote.
“Based on reports from 96% (241 of 250) of sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa’s statistical analysis shows that the APC should receive between 39.1% and 46.3% of the vote; the PDP should receive between 52.5% and 59.7% of the vote; while no other party will receive more than 1% of the vote share.
“The INEC official result for the 2020 Edo State gubernatorial election is consistent with the Yiaga Africa WTV estimate.
“Had the official results been changed at the ward, LGA or state collation centres, the official results would not have fallen within the Yiaga Africa WTV estimated ranges.
“Because the official results fall within the estimated ranges, governorship contestants, parties, and voters should have confidence that INEC’s official results for the 2020 Edo gubernatorial election reflect the ballots cast at polling units.
