From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Election observer groups – Pan African Women Projects (PAWP) and Intercontinental Leadership Initiative (ILI) – have commended voters, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the police for their roles in ensuring that Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State was peaceful.
Speaking on behalf of PAWP at a press conference in Osogbo, DR Eno Udensi, stated that the report gathered from 125 short-term and eight long-term observers deployed showed that the election was peaceful and transparent.
According to her, despite its credibility, the “election experienced vote buying at some polling units, especially in the Testing ground where we observed voters voting and crossing over to the other side of the road to collect money dramatically.
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“The vote buying in Osun was not as unhealthy as that of Ekiti where many persons were trading at the polling units environment.”
She stated that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), performed optimally and advised the stakeholders to harmonise and strategise through teamwork towards the Nigeria 2023 elections.
Also, the ILI, Stafford Bisong, noted that the Electoral Act signed by the president has brought sanity to the country’s electioneering process.
He said, “we say a big thank you to President Muhammadu Buhari for demonstrating his commitment to leaving behind a legacy of credible election in Nigeria by signing into law the electoral act 2022; which is truly bringing sanity to our electioneering process.”
He said results from 50 field observers deployed for the election showed that BVAS worked perfectly, security conducted itself and the electorate participated fully in the election.