Politics

Guber polls: According to CODE, voter intimidation and assaults tainted the election

TNT Newsline March 20, 2023

CODE, a civil society organization, condemned the widespread attack and suppression of voters in a number of polling units during the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on Saturday.

CODE’s Chief Executive Officer, Hamzat Lawal, told journalists in Abuja that there were insufficient security personnel deployed across most of the polling units visited by the majority of the organization’s 20,000 election observers.

He also stated that women, including a number of observers stationed to monitor the polls, were harassed and abused by suspected political thugs, while security agencies remained unconcerned.

“First, let me reiterate that we strongly condemn the attack and suppression of voters in a number of polling units,” he said.

“For example, in Ebonyi State, one of our own, an accredited Uzabe field observer named Uzodimma Lucy Ogodo, was brutally attacked for refusing to vote for a specific party.

“This is unacceptable and against the tenets of democracy which we strive so hard to maintain as a nation. The democratic contract of our country states that we as citizens have the sole right to choose who our leaders are, and we must protect this right, which is why we are once again urging security agencies to act quickly and ensure justice is served.

“Also, based on the reports of our field observers, we can say categorically that there are other pockets of violence that have surfaced in numerous polling units across the country. In Lagos State, for example, party hoodlums attacked the Ojo/Iba LCDA Local Govt Area, Princess Eneni Street, Victory Estate, Polling unit code: 091. In fact, our Lagos State Lead’s pregnant wife was attacked and is currently recovering. “We will not back down until justice is served.”

The acts of violence, intimidation, and voter suppression that marred the polls, according to Lawal, were an indictment on Inspector General of Police Usman Baba Alkali, who had assured voters of security.

“With such levels of violence, the police did not live up to expectations. We hope they will do more in the future. In fact, they harmed the elections. “When we escalated the issue of violence, the armed police were not available or did not respond,” he stressed.

Nonetheless, the CEO of Connected Development praised the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for opening polls early and uploading results to the IReV on time.

He explained, “Despite all of these faults that we have observed, we cannot say that the commission has not done well in some areas for example we observed that we recorded the early opening of polls in 79 per cent of polling units observed by CODE as opposed to the less than 30 per cent in the February 25 general elections.

“We must applaud the BVAS’s functionality in this election. This demonstrates the commission’s dedication to incorporating new technology into our electioneering process.

“However, we must applaud INEC for uploading results to the IReV. We noticed that as of 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, some polling unit results had already been uploaded to the IReV portal. We’re keeping a close eye on things.

“Right now, our democracy is on the verge of a monumental shift. Our voting patterns and electioneering processes are improving significantly, and we must not let logistical failures stymie necessary change.” The people have done their part; they are either still voting or counting their ballots, and now it is time for the commission to do its part.”

(TNT)