An observer’s intimate view of Osun governorship election

One eyewitness is of more weight than 10 hearsays   – Plautus

I was an accredited observer in the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State. I was part of the Nigeria Women Trust Fund team of Independent National Electoral Commission-accredited poll watchers.  The NWTF set the pace by deploying an all-female 63 observers (two exceptions being myself and Mustapha Yahaya, the Executive Director of Democratic Action Group, Kano). The aim was to conduct gender-focused election observation. We arrived Osogbo, the Osun State capital on Thursday, September 20, 2018. The same day, we trained the observers. We equally spared time to attend the INEC Observer Briefing.

A day before the election, we had a pre-election observation trip across the three senatorial districts of the state and addressed a press conference on our observation the same day. The NWTF observers were stationary in the Polling Units they were deployed from the opening to closing of polls. However, about 12 of us were constituted into roving observers. There was also a Gender Election Watch room manned by a small team of highly skilful staff who received and processed information coming from the deployed field observers. For the pre-election and Election Day observation, the team which I headed was deployed to Osun Central.

In total, my team visited several Polling Units across six of the 10 Local Government Areas in the senatorial district. They were: Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun, Boripe, Boluwaduro and Ila. Among the major towns visited apart from the state capital were Ikirun, Iragbiji, Ororuwo, Ada, Aagba, Eripa, Iree, Iresi, Igbajo, Otan-Ayegabju, and Ila. Ahead of the poll, I conducted an election hotspot analysis on the state for a civil society organisation.  Though we had projected a likelihood of violence in the towns of major candidates and party chieftains, it was heartwarming to note that the election was largely peaceful with only isolated cases of mild violence. It is significant that the Osun 2018 governorship election witnessed the highest number of contestants in the political history of Nigeria. A whopping 48 candidates among whom were four female candidates and 20 female deputy candidates participated in the election. Quite unfortunately, the female contestants did not have any impressive showing.

Nonetheless, there were several high points in the election. Ahead of the poll, there were three political debates organised by civil society groups in conjunction with some private media broadcast stations. There was the Transition Monitoring Group and Channels Television; the one by the British Broadcasting Corporation Yoruba Service and the last being that of Television Continental. This culture of political debate is salutary to our democracy. It helps to project the candidates and enables the electorate make an informed choice out of the contestants.

The candidate-nomination process in the state was largely peaceful. Indeed, for the first time in the history of the party, the ruling All Progressives Congress conducted Direct Primary where all the eligible members of the party, rather than party delegates, voted to choose the party’s torchbearer. However, as is wont to happen in this clime, in the aftermath of the party primaries, two major political parties in the state, that is, the Peoples Democratic Party and the APC, suffered some defections. It is laudable that despite the high number of candidates, the campaign period was largely peaceful with no death and isolated skirmishes reported. In fact, the political elite in Osun State exhibited high level of tolerance. There was no destruction of  posters, banners and billboards. This is quite impressive!

It is noteworthy that 98 per cent of Polling Units opened by 8am when the election was scheduled to commence. Smart Card Reader malfunctioning was very limited; I only witnessed that at one Polling Unit in Ikirun in Ifelodun Local Government. Voter turnout was also massive with well over 50 per cent voters exercising their franchise. The security agencies deployed were very professional and were able to prevent a breakdown of law and order. There was priority voting for the elderly, pregnant women, nursing mothers and Persons with Disabilities. Secrecy of ballot was also guaranteed especially with the redesigning of the Polling Unit set up as well as the ban on the use of smartphones inside the voting cubicles by INEC. An average of seven political parties out of the 48 that contested the election deployed party agents to the Polling Units.

However, the deployment of armed soldiers to enforce restriction of movement in Osogbo city centre was an unwholesome development. That should have been left to the police. My team also witnessed incidences of vote-buying, though it was being done in a discreet manner. An average of N2,000 was paid to some voters in some Polling Units visited. It was also learnt that electronic money transfer was adopted by some party agents to avoid being caught by law enforcement agents.  Though INEC provided Braille ballot for the visually impaired, access to Persons with Disabilities remained a nagging issue as persons on wheelchair and crutches found  it difficult to get to their Polling Units. The Party Agents badges were not customised. This made it transferable to unauthorised persons. The Police invitation to the PDP candidate, Ademola Adeleke, for possible arraignment in court for alleged forgery and sundry crimes last Thursday as well as the attempt to shortchange the PDP by 1,000 votes in Ayedaade LG were some of the low points in the election.

While it is heartwarming that the election was keenly contested with the PDP candidate leading his closest rival by some 353 votes, the declaration of the election inconclusive has taken the shine off the sterling performance of INEC in the conduct of the election. For the avoidance of doubt, I stand with INEC in its declaration of the election inconclusive. INEC for over 10 years had been conducting supplementary polls to conclude elections when the number of cancelled votes is more than the difference between the two leading parties.

While many analysts are quoting Section 179 of the 1999 Constitution as well as Section 69 of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended to rule INEC out of order for declaring the election inconclusive, the same people ignored the provisions of Section 53 (2) and (3).   Section 53 (2) says: “Where the votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceed the number of registered voters in that polling unit, the result of the election for that polling unit shall be declared void by the Commission and another election may be conducted at a date to be fixed by the Commission where the result at that polling unit may affect the overall result in the constituency.”

Section 53 (3) says, “Where an election is nullified in accordance with Sub-section (2) of this section, there shall be no return for the election until another poll has taken place in the affected area.”

INEC approved guidelines and the Regulations of the 2015 General Election on page 22 – 23, paragraph 4, Section N, empower the Returning Officer to act as follows: “Where the margin of win between the two leading  candidates is not in excess of the total number of registered voters of the polling unit(s) where elections was cancelled or not held, the Returning Officer shall decline to make a return until another poll has taken place in the affected polling unit(s) and the result incorporated into a new form, Form EC 8D and subsequently recorded into Form EC 8E for Declaration and Return”.

This is not a newly invented rule by INEC. It was applied in the following governorship elections in Ekiti State in 2007; Imo State in 2011 and 2015; Abia State, Taraba State, Kogi State and Bayelsa State in 2015 as well. I know that it is the judiciary that can lay the raging controversy to rest and it is a good development that the PDP has gone to court to challenge INEC on its decision in Osun. What I however do not like is the perceived inconsistency of INEC in applying this rule. News reports have it that this rule was skipped in last month’s bye-election in Kogi and Bauchi states.

Those who are asking the INEC Returning Officer to reverse himself  or for the INEC Chairman to declare the election conclusive without the supplementary election of Thursday should read Section 68 of the Electoral Act which makes the decision of the Returning Officer final and only subject to review by the Election Petitions Tribunal or the court.