The Coalition of Accredited Election Observers (CAEO) has praised the conduct of the 2024 Edo State governorship election, held on September 21, describing it as free and fair.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, CAEO’s national secretary, Ogwilaya Sunny, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for ensuring a peaceful voting process.
Sunny highlighted that despite initial logistical challenges in some areas, such as the late arrival of materials in Etsakor East local government area and minor technical issues with the BVAS machines, INEC officials quickly resolved these problems. The election commenced on time in most polling units, with voting extended in areas that experienced delays.
The CAEO reported no voter intimidation or disenfranchisement incidents and noted that security personnel maintained order throughout the day.
He said while there were some reports of vote-buying and minor cases of ballot snatching, these were not significant enough to affect the overall outcome of the election.
Sunny further praised INEC for adhering to the use of BVAS machines and uploading results to the IREV portal as mandated by the Electoral Act 2022.
The group encouraged any dissatisfied parties to seek legal redress rather than resorting to self-help and emphasised that while no election is perfect, the efforts of INEC and security personnel contributed to the credibility of the Edo governorship election.
The group also urged INEC to address logistical issues in future elections to ensure smoother processes.
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