The Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, has said widespread vote buying, political violence and voter intimidation has disrupted seamless conduct of the March 18 gubernatorial and state house of assembly.
The centre, in a report, said over 1,500 observers deployed reported that Kano, Jigawa, Lagos, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers and Yobe states witnessed increased reports of vote trading, primarily by political party agents.
According to the report, in the northwest, observers in all seven states reported that money was used alongside other materials such as food items, wrappers and a ‘credit voucher’ to buy votes and those items were to be redeemed after the results.
Chairman of CDD’s Election Analysis Centre, EAC, Prof Adele Jinadu and CDD Director, Idayat Hassan, during a joint press conference in Abuja, said “in the northeast,” political party agents in Taraba infiltrated the queue, pretended to be voters and used the chance to offer cash for votes”.
Furthermore, On how widespread vote buying in the polls, CDD said its data shows that there were more instances during the governorship elections compared to the presidential polls of February 25, with this reality reflected across all six geopolitical zones.
“This might be a reflection of the heightened political environment around governorship polls, the importance of local personalities in state-level politics, and the shortages of fuel and naira.
“In the southeast, there were reports of APGA and LP party agents using materials, phones and other souvenirs to entice voters in Anambra state. In the south-south, multiple states reported a desire for voters to show proof of their vote before being paid, with party agents reportedly compiling a list of their voters in Esan Central LGA, Edo state,” the CDD said.
Furthermore, the CDD also documented incidents of violence, which it noted reinforces the heightened political environment that the polls have been conducted in. These incidents, the CDD noted, have often involved party agents and politically sponsored thugs.
“In the north-central, multiple irregularities in Benue state have been flagged by observers, while the contentious elections in Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe – coupled with reported security challenges – have led to increased attention on the remainder of the conduct of the elections in these states. In the southeast Enugu and Ebonyi are states we are continuing to closely monitor,” it said.
“A concern that has cut across multiple zones is the reduced presence of security officials. Observers across the states in the south-south, southwest and northwest reported a much smaller security presence, especially when compared to the presidential election.
“There were reports in Ukanafun LGA, Akwa Ibom, where thugs attacked a polling unit and scared away voters. Election materials were also hijacked at gunpoint in Emelia LGA and thugs also disrupted the process in Obio Akpor LGA, both in Rivers state,” it said.