Anambra election
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room says poor sensitisation of voters on relocated and clustered polling units during Saturday’s Anambra governorship election slowed the process.
In its interim statement issued on election day, the coalition of over 80 civil society organisations said while voting commenced peacefully across most areas, many voters struggled to locate their polling units due to inadequate communication from the umpire.
“Situation Room observed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not conduct adequate sensitization of voters around the polling units that were relocated and clustered in several voting locations across the State,” the statement reads.
The group added that several polling units that had been merged or moved to new venues were difficult for voters to identify, leading to delays and frustration.
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“Observers reported that this clustering of polling units without adequate communication hindered easy identification of polling units in the affected locations except in Ihiala LGA where 80 polling units from Azia, Mbosi, Lilu, Iseke, Obolo Isiuzo and Osumowo Wards were moved into the premises of the local government secretariat due to fear of insecurity,” the statement reads.
The group said despite the early peace that characterised voting, there was delayed commencement of polls in several areas.
It said most polling units opened at an average time of 9:15am, while some in Ogbaru and Nnewi-north did not begin voting until after 10am.
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In Awka south, Situation Room reported that some polling units located within the same registration area centre still failed to set up and commence voting on time.
The group also recorded reports of low voter turnout in several locations in the early hours of the election, as many residents went about their normal businesses instead of proceeding to polling stations.
On election security, Situation Room said personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) were visible at most polling units, but noted gaps in deployment and complaints of unpaid allowances among officers on duty.
While acknowledging that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned efficiently in most polling units observed, the group reported an instance in Onitsha North where malfunctioning BVAS caused accreditation and voting to begin late.
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The group called on INEC to ensure transparency in the next stages of the process.
“Situation Room calls on INEC to effectively manage the vote tabulation and result collation processes while ensuring every vote counts in this election,” the statement added.
