Voting has concluded in most polling places in Edo State, where a gubernatorial election was held this Saturday.
Earlier the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced an extension of voting in polling units where the process commenced late. While many polling units reported early starts, delays were observed in certain locations.
To ensure no voter was disenfranchised, the commission ordered voting to continue in those centers until the last voter in the queue, who arrived at least by 2:30 pm, had cast their vote. INEC allowed for backup power from electric generators to be used where necessary.
Only 2,249,870 of the 2,629,025 registered voters in Edo State had their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) to cast ballots in today’s election. The exact voter turnout is yet to be determined. The information will be easy to be gleaned from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine which automatically records accreditation before voting is allowed.
However, voters across the 18 local government areas of Edo State turned out in large numbers to choose a successor to Governor Godwin Obaseki, whose tenure ends on November 11, 2024.
The state is split up into 192 electoral wards, 4,519 voting places, and 18 local government districts.
The Edo governorship election was largely peaceful with scattered cases of electoral malpractice and violence.
Preliminary election results tabulated at the polling stations show both predictable and surprising results with some of the candidates winning and losing in unexpected places.
Election Results On IReV
As of the latest update, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uploaded 89.93% of the results from the Edo gubernatorial election on to its INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
This represents the results from 3,895 out of 4,519 polling units across the state.
While some results at the polling stations have been sighted online, JolibaLive News! has the editorial policy to refrain from publishing those purported result sheets. Their authenticity cannot be independently ascertained, and according to the Nigerian constitution, no authority or persons are allowed to declare or publish the results of elections in Nigeria except the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Collation of results at Ward, Local Governments have commenced. This process will culminate in a final state collation in Benin City.
The final winner would be declared once the collation is complete which is expected to occur in the coming hours or days.
Widespread Vote Buying Reported
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), under the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), reported widespread voter inducement at polling units. Despite the presence of security personnel, observers reported cases of blatant vote buying and selling in several locations.
In polling units such as PU08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East LGA; PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and various polling units in Egor, Oredo, and Owan-West LGAs, voters were allegedly offered between ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 per vote, for example. In some cases, food items such as bread were used to induce voters.
However, the NCSSR commended the peaceful conduct of voters in most areas of the state.
JolibaLive News! will continue to provide updates on the Edo State #Decides gubernatorial election until the final winner is declared. Stay with us!
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