Yiaga Africa has expressed serious concerns over late commencement of voting, logistical lapses, and low voter turnout in the just concluded Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It however, acknowledged the generally peaceful conduct of the elections for chairmanship positions in the six Area Councils and 62 councillorship seats in the FCT by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
YIAGA said its Watching the Vote (WTV) preliminary assessment was based on real-time reports from observers and focused strictly on process observation.
These were stated at a media briefing by the Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Mr Samson Itodo, during which he assured of the organisation’s commitment to providing credible, data-driven information throughout the electoral process.
Itodo, pointedly said that logistical challenges affected the timely opening of polling units, particularly in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Yiaga Africa said it deployed trained and accredited roving observers to monitor activities across polling units in the territory’s 62 wards.
According to Itodo; “Observers arrived as early as 7:30 a.m. to assess opening procedures, accreditation, voting and counting processes.
“In areas such as Wuse and Gwarinpa, several polling units reportedly opened well behind schedule, with officials still arranging materials as of 9:00 a.m. Accreditation and voting in many locations began around 10:00 a.m., contrary to electoral guidelines.
“Observers also reported gaps in the deployment of some materials. While key items such as the BVAS machines and voter registers were eventually available in most polling units.
“Instances of delayed provision of voter registers and absence of essential materials like voting cubicles were recorded in a few locations,” Yiaga Africa stated.
The organisation particularly raised concerns over the redistribution of voters to newly created polling units without adequate prior notification.
It said; “Although INEC reportedly sent SMS notifications, many voters received the messages on election day, leading to confusion, prolonged searches for polling units and congestion at some centres”.
YIAGA Africa emphasised that such administrative shortcomings discouraged participation and undermined confidence in electoral planning.
It also noted that some polling units closed before the official 2:30 p.m. deadline despite guidelines requiring units to remain open until the last voter in the queue had voted.
YIAGA therefore demanded strict adherence to transparency measures which included posting of polling unit results and electronic transmission of result sheets to the INEC Result Viewing portal and collation centres.
It also tasked INEC to intensify voter education on polling unit changes through timely public communication and collaboration with stakeholders to minimise confusion in future elections.
YIAGA also urged security agencies to maintain professionalism and neutrality, particularly during the collation process, just as it tasked political parties and supporters to avoid actions capable of disrupting the electoral process.
According to YIAGA Africa; “We urge voters, political actors, electoral officials and security agencies to contribute to a peaceful and credible conclusion of the elections”.
