Kogi: YIAGA AFRICA wants fresh election over widespread irregularities

Following what it called widespread irregularities in the Saturday’s governorship and senatorial byeelection in Kogi State, the YIAGA AFRICA has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election in the state.

This is contained in the organization’s Watching The Vote (WTV) statement on the conduct of the Governorship and Kogi West Senatorial District election, jointly signed by Dr. Hussaini Abdu, Chair, YIAGA AFRICA WTV- Kogi Observation Mission and Samson Itodo, Executive Director, YIAGA AFRICA.

The report said that the data, based on two months of reports from their deployed 548 observers with 500 polling unit observers deployed to 250 sampled polling units, exposes serious shortcomings in the pre-election period, the election day environment and, to a lesser extent, in the conduct of the polls.

It said these issues seriously compromise the credibility of the

Kogi gubernatorial and senatorial polls.

“In such a circumstance, YIAGA AFRICA calls upon INEC to conduct a thorough investigation of the conduct of the Kogi governorship and senatorial elections and to conduct a new election that gives voters a genuine opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

“Perpetrators of violence and their sponsors should be arrested and prosecuted. Consistent with our own protocols and international best practice, YIAGA AFRICA will not release its PVT results data as the PVT estimates cannot reflect the preferences of Kogi voters because the political parties, security agencies and the courts compromised the credibility of the Kogi governorship and senatorial elections,” they said.

They expressed worry about the emerging trend in electoral manipulation and the deepening culture of impunity, the failure to institutionally and decisively act could undermine the nation’s democracy.