After the 2023 general election, many Nigerians, home and abroad, publicly called out the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Many others had made it known that they would never again put their trust in the commission to deliver a free, fair and credible election.
Shortly after that dramatic election and the eventful post-election days spiced with many legal battles the off-cycle election came.
The election was set to hold in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo State.
To many it was a chance for INEC to regain the trust it had thrown away with visible irregularities, which critics said were all planned to favour a candidate.
People pulled out the cards and scored INEC again in the off-cycle election.
Now, YIAGA Africa says INEC failed to rebuild the trust of Nigerians in the electoral process.
Electoral Integrity
YIAGA argued that the elections questioned the commitment of INEC to electoral integrity and credible elections.
“The November 11 elections were another missed opportunity to rebuild trust and confidence in the electoral process.
“The elections question the commitment of democratic institutions to electoral integrity and credible elections.”
The above is a statement made available on an official social media handle of YIAGA.
The Election
The recently concluded off-cycle governorship elections saw Duoye Diri, Hope Uzodimma and Usman Ododo emerge as winners.
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It was, however, reported to be marred by vote-buying and other electoral fraud.
In Kogi, an ad-hoc staff was caught with a filled election sheet before the commencement of the governorship election.
Unfortunately, this criminal act resulted in the cancellation of the election in about 59 polling units.
In Imo, oppositions accused the ruling party of conniving with INEC to generate figures in areas where elections were believed to not have taken place.
However, despite the irregularities record, the election umpire announced winners at the three off-cycle governorship elections that were held on Saturday.
