By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – A report by an election observer, Kimpact Development Initiative, KDI, tagged ‘Accessing the Integrity of the Ballot: The 2024 Edo/Ondo Governorship Elections’, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to improve on its technology and transparency.

The Executive Director, KDI, Bukola Idowu, who presented the report explained that, “The 2024 Edo and Ondo Governorship Election BIP Report presents a detailed assessment of the electoral process, focusing on the accuracy of election result management, transparency in result transmission, and overall electoral integrity. Using data from polling units, state collation centres and the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal, this study highlights a significant trend, discrepancies, and areas for reform to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process.”

The report also pointed out discrepancy between IReV and State collation centre reports in Ondo and Edo elections; Unreported election cancellations in Ondo State – at least 19 instances of Form EC40G uploads were identified, but the LGA Returning Officers did not report any cancellations, across seven Local Government Areas, LGAs.

According to the report, “One of the most striking findings of this study was the persistence of these mismatches in the number of registered voters across multiple polling units. In Edo State inconsistencies were found in 141pollinng units while in Ondo, the same issue was observed in 87 polling units. These discrepancies were observed in 87 extended beyond individual polling stations to the final collation centres, where the total number of registered voters recorded was significantly different from INEC’s pre-election figures.”

The report indicated that, “Overvoting occurs when the total number of votes cast in a polling unit exceeds the number of accredited voters recorded by the Electoral Commission. According to the Electoral Act 2022, specifically Section 51(2), “Where the number of votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceeds the number of accredited voters in that polling unit, the result of the election for that polling unit shall be declared null and void, and the election shall be cancelled in that polling unit.” This legal provision underscores the severity of overvoting, as it mandates the cancellation of results in affected polling units to ensure electoral integrity.

“In the 2024 governorship elections, overvoting was identified in both Edo and Ondo States, although the frequency varied significantly between the two. In Edo State, overvoting was recorded in 381 polling units, while in Ondo State, it was observed in 183 polling units. This suggests a higher incidence of overvoting in Edo compared to Ondo. Beyond just the number of polling units affected, the extent of excess votes was also examined. In Edo State, 8,887 votes were identified as the total number of accredited voters. Similarly, in Ondo State, a total of 4,045 accredited voters were recorded.

“Could overvoting have Influenced the election results? The margin of victory between the winner and the first runner-up provides insight into whether the votes from the affected polling units could have changed the overall election outcome. In Edo State, the margin of victory, as declared by INEC, was 44,393 votes.”

The report pointed out key lessons to learn from the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections: “The mismatch between the INEC declared results and IReV uploads in Edo raises concerns about the collation process. While these disparities do not always indicate fraud, they create perception issues that can erode trust in the electoral system.Lesson: Full harmonization between electronic and manual collation processes is crucial to prevent discrepancies that fuel post-election disputes.

“Unreported Election Cancellations Raise Transparency Concerns; The existence of EC40G uploads (election cancellations) in Edo and Ondo without official acknowledgement from LGA Returning.

“Officers suggest gaps in reporting procedures. This discrepancy may indicate either oversights, administrative inefficiencies, or deliberate suppression of information. Lesson: A more accountable and transparent cancellation reporting system must be established, where all cancelled votes are publicly accounted for in collation centres.

“Moving forward, the following steps could help strengthen election integrity: Improved Voter Accreditation Systems; Stricter Polling Unit-Level Oversight; Enhanced Reconciliation Processes.”

Some of the recommendations contained in the report include; “The platform should allow result uploads beyond the polling unit level, ensuring real-time tracking at ward, local government, and state collation levels.

“INEC should maintain a clear, publicly accessible database even after elections, allowing citizens, political parties, and observers to compare results across collation stages.

“This feature, which allows overvoting confirmation on the IReV portal, was removed after the 2023 off-cycle elections. The report recommended its reinstatement.

“A dedicated online platform should be created before elections, allowing citizens, political parties, and observers to report irregularities directly to INEC for timely resolution.

“Officials found guilty of manipulating or mismanaging election results should be disqualified from future electoral duties.”

Meanwhile, in his keynote address titled ‘Protecting the Vote: Ensuring Electoral Integrity Through Credible Result Management’, Prof Adele Jinadu, declared that most of the challenges in the electoral process in Nigeria are majorly caused by humans, because of their mindsets before, during and after the election, and basically deliberate to manipulate the entire process to suite their paymasters at the detriment of Nigerians.

Therefore, Prof Jinadu called for stricter and closer monitoring of the entire process by voters, observers and media to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.

He said: “People must organise themselves at ward and polling unit levels to ensure elections are not violated.”