An observer group in the February 25 general elections, an observer group accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), the Centre for Accountability and Inclusive Development (CAAID) and its partners, have presented a report on the elections, calling for the unbundling of the electoral Commission over poor logistic arrangements.
CAAID partnered with 321 observers across 22 States, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to observe the just-concluded elections.
Speaking at a joint press conference on the conduct of the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections in Abuja, Executive Director of CAAID, Aanu Rotimi, said the elections recorded low voter turnout in most of the PUs monitored with a few exceptions, adding that some voters who turned out early to meet the absence of the INEC team left in frustration and did not return.
Also speaking, Executive Director, Initiative for Africa Society Inclusion and Diversity for Development FCT, Coordinator CAAID Domestic Observer Group, Olayinka Akeredolu-Martins, said INEC should address Nigerians and stakeholders on what went wrong during and after the elections.
She decried the stress voters went through in voting, even as many still couldn’t vote at all in the process, and said as the gubernatorial elections draw near, INEC must get it right.
The observers, however, urged aggrieved Nigerians to remain calm and channel their dissatisfaction through the legal process and avoid actions that will ignite social unrest.
