Yiaga Africa, an election monitoring civil society organisation in Nigeria has predicted low turnout of voters in the Saturday November 16, 2023 governorship election in Ondo State......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Yiaga Africa, however, predicted a peaceful election during the Saturday governorship election in Ondo State.
“Yiaga Africa observed the pre-election environment, and reports indicate that Ondo experienced a relatively peaceful pre-election environment. Security concerns leading up to the election in Ondo State have remained low,” Yiaga Africa added.
In a pre-election press briefing in Akure on Thursday, Ezenwa Nwagwu, Chairman, 2024 Ondo Election Mission of Yiaga Africa, attributed the anticipated low turnout to voter apathy, economic concerns, thuggery, cultist activities, among others.
“There are concerns about low voter turnout. Several factors contribute to this, including voter apathy, economic concerns, and the influence of political thuggery and cultist activities. These issues can discourage citizens from participating in the electoral process, leading to a lower-than-expected turnout,” he added.
He continued: “As election campaigns intensify, some party supporters become less tolerant and engage in physical and verbal altercations to assert dominance. There has been a concerning rise in political thuggery and the activities of cultists. These actions threaten the integrity of the electoral process and the safety of voters.”
Speaking further on the pre-election campaign, Yiaga Africa said its “assessment revealed that the campaigns were more of a clash of political heavyweights than a competition of ideas and issues, with money playing a prominent role.”
He continued: “Yiaga Africa pre-election assessment revealed that the campaigns were more of a clash of political heavyweights than a competition of ideas and issues, with money playing a prominent role.
“The allegations of election rigging between the political parties and the conversation of new rigging tactics remain topical in the pre-election phase.
“The defining issues in the pre-election phase indicate a worrying trend in elections in Nigeria and demand a review of the approach to engaging and assessing the electoral process.”
Yiaga Africa, while appealing to Ondo electorate to conduct themselves peacefully during the election as they have been doing before, urged security agents to play by the rule.
“We call on voters in Ondo to encourage peaceful behaviour, discourage violence or intimidation and report any suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities,” Yiaga added.
The civil society organisation, therefore, called on all stakeholders to collaborate to make the Ondo State election a model for other off-cycle elections, showcasing our collective commitment to democracy and peaceful coexistence.