Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), a civil society organisation, released its 2024 Edo and Ondo Governorship Election Ballot Integrity Report on Friday, revealing discrepancies in the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to KDI’s Team Lead and Executive Director, Mr. Bukola Idowu, the report identifies inconsistencies such as arithmetic errors and voter register mismatches within the results, indicating areas requiring improvement. While acknowledging progress in the uploading of results to INEC’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal, with 90% of results uploaded before midnight on election day, Idowu emphasized that the identified discrepancies remain a concern.
“There are inconsistencies in figures and data released by INEC, and this inconsistency needs to be addressed,” Idowu stated. He pointed to discrepancies in registered voter numbers across pre-election announcements, post-collation figures, and data on the IReV portal.
The report analyzed 8,154 votes, representing 97% of the 8,377 results uploaded to the IReV portal (4,358 from Edo and 3,796 from Ondo). KDI recommended that INEC upgrade Form EC8 to allow for pre-recording of registered voter numbers and enhance the IReV portal to include results from ward collation points. The CSO also urged decisive punishment for officials found guilty of electoral misconduct and advocated for the restoration of synchronization features to protect and monitor uploaded names.
Professor Adele Jinadu, a former NEC Commissioner, echoed the need for continued improvement in election management, highlighting the complexity of organizing elections and the potential for human error. Speaking on “Protecting the Vote: Ensuring Electoral Integrity through Credible Result Management Practices,” Jinadu cautioned against “data tyranny” while emphasizing the importance of citizen vigilance in safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged CSOs to expand their reach to rural areas to monitor and prevent electoral violations. He also advocated for reducing over-legislation of electoral processes, limiting excessive funds during elections, and curbing abuse of incumbency.
Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), represented by Omolara Akinyeye, Deputy Director, PLAC, commended KDI for providing an innovative tool for CSOs to monitor the 2027 general elections. He emphasized the significance of the 2027 elections given the issues that arose in the 2023 general elections.
