The results of the more than 28,000 polling places in Nigeria where the presidential election was held have not yet been uploaded by the Independent National Election Commission (INEC)....CONTINUE READING
Bola Tinubu, a candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), was proclaimed the victor by INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in the early hours of Wednesday.
Among the 774 local government districts around the nation, there are 176,846 polling places, however, 15% of those locations’ voting results are still a mystery.
Five days after the general election, on March 2, at 11:00 am, 148,741 units of results had been submitted, There was a shortfall of over 28,000 polling units.
According to the electoral commission, the total number of votes cast by the remaining candidates does not equal the number of votes that separated Tinubu from first runner-up Atiku Abubakar.
Even so, detractors question why it takes so long to transfer the results from locations with allegedly small voting populations when they ought to have been among the first to be sent.
The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctioned, there was excessive voting, and thugs attacked polling places, officials, and electorates, earning INEC censure for the tainted elections.
The joint mission of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) delivered a dismal preliminary statement.
The observers highlighted on Monday in Abuja that INEC’s “inadequate communication and lack of openness” “caused confusion and damaged voters’ faith”.
The leader and former president of Malawi, Joyce Banda, stated that the result of these issues together was to disenfranchise Nigerian voters in many regions.
However, despite enormous crowds and protracted lines at polling places, the IRI/NDI team praised voters for their commitment.
Strangely, neither the Commonwealth nor the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), delegates directly criticized INEC or made any remarks regarding the irregularities.
The Commonwealth Observation Group concentrated more on a peaceful post-election period and public participation in the process during a press briefing.
Chairman and former South Africa President, Thabo Mbeki counselled calm and advised candidates with issues “to handle disagreements through proper legal means”.
