The logistics process was fair but there were recorded glitches in the accreditation of voters, a youth-based organisation has found in its preliminary analysis of the gubernatorial election in Anambra State last Saturday.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the Youth Initiative for Advocacy and Advancement, YIAGA, said the voting materials in most parts of the state arrived early, but some people were allowed to vote without authentication of their fingerprints.
Such occurrences, even though they happened at few polling stations, constitute “a great concern,” for the overall credibility of the process, YIAGA said in a statement by its director, Samson Toldo.
The report was distributed Saturday afternoon as part of the election-monitoring activities of about 500 stationery observers and 29 mobile observers deployed by YIAGA across the state’s 21 local government areas.
The group said it deployed Parallel Vote Tabulation observation methodology to get make its findings more accurate and efficient.
The PVT is an advanced methodology that employs well established statistical principles and utilises modern information techniques for election observation.
Mr. Itodo said YIAGA officials also found that there was an average of four polling officers per polling unit, challenging INEC to display transparency by publishing collection statistics of voter’s cards.
“APC party agents were seen at 90 per cent of polling units, APGA at 98 per cent of the polling units, and PDP at 89 per cent of polling units,” it found. “For the purposes of transparency, YIAGA urges INEC to publish the data of the collection rate of the Permanent Voter Card, PVC.”
The findings were similar to what PREMIUM TIMES’ reporters covering the election across the state highlighted earlier today.
Our reporters also found that major political parties, including APGA and APC shared money to the electorate, contrary to denials by their leaders that there was no voter inducement.
Thirty-seven candidates are running in today’s election, which analysts widely see as a prelude to 2019 general elections.
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