A Coalition of Civil Societies of Nigeria which observed last Saturday’s governorship primary election of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun state has described the exercise as a mockery of democracy.
The civil society group, while addressing the press at the NUJ Correspondents’ Chapel Monday, said the APC primary fell short of acceptable international standards.
According to the CSOs, the APC primary was grossly marred by violence, electoral irregularities, lack of sensitive materials such as result sheets, operational and logistical challenges, security issues among others.
Presenting a communiqué on their observations at the poll, the leader of the team, Patrick Usman of the Centre for Development of Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria, said the election was bias, recommending that the national secretariat of the APC should investigate the irregularities reported in the election.
Some of the identified irregularities, according to the CSOs include non accreditation in most wards where they observed the election, non-availability of result sheets, disenfranchisement of voters, among others.
The communiqué reads in part: “In majority of the wards where we visited in the affected local governments, there was no accreditation. In few places where accreditation held, it was a shambolic show, filled with pretence. Ward 15, Oyan, Odo-Otin LG, Ward 5, Apomu, Isokan LG, Ward 8, Ilesa East LG, Ward 8, Ayetoro, Osogbo LG, Ward 2, 4 and 5 also in Osogbo LG and other places are examples of this irregularities.
“Our team observed and noted that there was generally non-availability of result sheets at the wards where we observed the election. In some cases, ordinary A4 papers and official letter head of the party were used instead.
“We don’t know who is who, but there are complaints from party members that government officials who are appointed by the Governor (who is also an aspirant in the election) were used as Returning Officers instead of the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). There was no any INEC official in all the wards.
“Violence was recorded in some voting centres in some of the wards. In Osogbo, Boripe, Ede, Ilesa East and Oriade LGs, thugs were stationed at every ward and electorates were chased away from the voting centres.”
