By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The ECOWAS Electoral Observation Mission to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Monday said, most polling officials and ad-hoc staff demonstrated inadequate knowledge of their duties, especially with the voting materials.
This is contained in the ECOWAS Electoral Observation Mission preliminary report, which was presented to newsmen at the ECOWAS Commission Secretariat in Abuja.
Presenting the preliminary report on Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections held on Saturday, 25th February 2023, the Head of ECOWAS Electoral Observation Mission, and former President of Sierra Leone, Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, noted that there was late commencement of polling in most of the polling units on election day.
He further noted that beyond late arrival and commencement of voting in most polling units, some of the units ran out of ink, thereby delaying the resumption of voting.
The former president said voter turn out was generally low in most of the polling stations visited by its observer team.
While commending the security agents for discharging their duties in accordance with the provisions of the law, Mr. Koroma said the security deployment were fairly inadequate.
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The report also disclosed that there were cases of BVAS failure to accredit voters due mainly to technical issues relating to login details, configuration and internet connectivity.
On election violence, the head of observation team said: “Violent incidents were likewise recorded in the Mafoluku area of Ishodi in Lagos State, where masked men, armed with pump action rifle disrupted voting and burnt ballot papers and boxes”.
The report noted the increasing misinformation and disinformation on social media, including misleading conjectures and projections regarding the outcome of the 25th February 2023 general elections, is liable to cause disaffection and inflame tensions in the polity.
Mr. Kororma urged the public to disregard the provocations and continue to rely on official pronouncements on the electoral process by INEC and other competent national institutions.
