Yiaga Africa lists highs and Lows of FCT Polls

Yiaga Africa, a civil society organisation (CSO), has released its preliminary report on the Area Council elections which held in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Saturday.

Addressing the media, Samson Itodo, Executive Director, and Cynthia Mbamalu, Director of Programmes, said while the elections were conducted in a largely peaceful atmosphere, they were characterised by low voter turnout, late opening of polling units and administrative lapses that created confusion in several locations.

The civic group said logistical challenges, particularly in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), delayed the commencement of polling in many units, with accreditation and voting in most of the observed polling units beginning around 10:00 a.m.

“Overall, the election was conducted in a largely peaceful atmosphere. Voters who presented themselves at polling units were afforded the opportunity to exercise their franchise without widespread disruption. Notwithstanding this enabling environment, voter turnout was generally low, with most polling units recording poor turnout,” the group said.

Yiaga Africa said its trained and accredited roving observers were deployed across the 62 wards by 7:30 a.m. to monitor opening procedures, accreditation, voting and counting.

According to the group, as of 9:00 a.m., set-up activities were still ongoing in the majority of polling units observed, contrary to electoral guidelines.

“In AMAC, particularly in Wuse and Gwarinpa wards, several polling units opened significantly behind schedule. Polling officials were still arranging materials and organising the voting environment as at 9:00 a.m., with accreditation and voting commencing only after 10:00 a.m. On average, across the sampled polling units observed, accreditation and voting began at approximately 10:00 a.m.,” it stated.

On deployment of materials, Yiaga Africa said critical items such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and voter registers were available in most polling units observed.

However, it reported that in Polling Unit 004, Wuse Ward, Zone 2 Primary School, the voter register was not initially available and was only produced after observers raised concerns and voters objected.

It also said voting cubicles were not observed in PU002 (Ward 09), PU006 (Ward 01) and PU012 (Ward 10) in Abaji Area Council, while an ink pad required for the voting process was reportedly missing in one polling unit.

The group expressed concern over the redistribution of voters to newly created polling units without prior and adequate notification.

While acknowledging INEC’s efforts to notify affected voters via SMS, it said many messages were delivered on election day, with some received hours after polling had commenced.

“The lack of timely and effective communication generated confusion at several polling locations, as numerous voters spent over an hour attempting to ascertain their designated polling units. In multiple instances, this administrative shortcoming contributed to congestion and overcrowding, thereby undermining orderly queue management and potentially discouraging voter participation,” it said.

Yiaga Africa added that significant disparities in voter distribution were observed within the same polling locations, raising concerns about the coherence and reliability of the polling unit expansion and voter redistribution framework.

It further reported that some polling units closed before the official 2:30 p.m. closing time, contrary to guidelines requiring units to remain open until 2:30 p.m. or until the last person on the queue votes.

On security, the group said there was heavy deployment in certain locations, which in some instances impeded the movement of accredited observers and restricted access to polling units.

“Observers further noted that the heightened security presence created barriers for citizens attempting to access polling units to exercise their right to vote,” it said.

Yiaga Africa also documented incidents of vote buying in several polling units, describing it as a “persistent menace” despite prior assurances and directives by INEC to security agencies to apprehend offenders.

On recommendations, the group urged INEC officials to ensure that Form EC60E (People’s Results Sheet) is posted at polling units and that all polling unit results (Form EC8A) are uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) using the BVAS and properly transmitted to ward collation centres.

It also called on INEC officials to conduct collation and declaration of results with “the highest standards of integrity, transparency and professionalism,” in strict adherence to legal and procedural guidelines.

The group advised INEC to undertake a comprehensive nationwide public engagement campaign to clearly communicate voter redeployment to newly created polling units, including timely voter education and accessible verification tools.

Yiaga Africa urged security agencies to maintain professionalism and impartiality, limiting their role to safeguarding voters, officials and materials without compromising the integrity of the process.

It also called on political parties, candidates and their supporters to refrain from disrupting the process or undermining the elections.