Election monitoring group, Yiaga Africa, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide clarification on the process through which it uploaded results from EC8A forms for sampled polling units in Imo State where elections were reportedly not conducted.
Dr. Hussaini Abdu, Chair of Yiaga Africa WTV Working Group, issued a statement on Sunday morning in Abuja, specifically identifying the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in question as Orsu, Oru East, Oru West, Ideato North, Ikeduru, and Okigwe LGAs.
Abdu urged INEC to clarify the voting status across polling units in Orsu, Okigwe, Oru East, and Orlu LGAs in Imo State.
The statement highlighted that Yiaga Africa observers reported the completion of the voting process and ongoing result collation in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States, while also noting that elections did not take place in 12 percent of sampled polling units in Imo State.
According to the statement, these instances were particularly prevalent in Orsu, Okigwe, Oru East, and Orlu LGAs.
Yiaga Africa expressed concern about the upload of results from EC8A for some sampled polling units in these LGAs where elections were allegedly not conducted.
Yiaga Africa’s WTV observers reported that elections did not occur in nine sampled polling units in Orsu LGA, eight in Okigwe LGA, eight in Oru East LGA, seven in Orlu LGA, and one each in Ideato North, Ikeduru, Oru West, and Owerri West LGAs.
The statement emphasized the lack of information provided to voters about the alleged relocation of polling units in Orsu LGA, leading to concerns about transparency and the integrity of the electoral process.
Yiaga Africa called on INEC to clarify the voting status in the mentioned LGAs and investigate potential election malpractices, especially in cases where results were uploaded without proper accreditation and voting.
Yiaga Africa, through its Watching The Vote initiative, remains committed to promoting credible elections by independently assessing the conduct of elections and verifying whether the announced results accurately reflect the votes cast.
