On November 30, 2019, YIAGA AFRICA observed the Kogi West supplementary election in 53 polling units in 7 Local Government Areas (LGAs) where elections were cancelled or not concluded due to violence and disruption (Ijumu, Kabba/Bunu, Lokoja, Koton Karfe, Mopa Moro, Yagba East and Yagba West). YIAGA AFRICA Watching The Vote (WTV) deployed a total of 63 trained and accredited citizen observers including 53 stationary observers and 10 roving and collation centre observers for the supplementary elections in Kogi West.
This statement is based on YIAGA AFRICA WTV findings on the observation of accreditation and voting, counting of ballots, announcement and posting of results at the polling units, and collation of results at LGA collation centres. These findings are based on reports received from 52 out of 53 polling units in the 7 LGAs and 7 LGA collation centres.
Watching the Vote Preliminary Findings on the Supplementary Election
Findings from Polling Units
- Opening and Set-Up of Polling Unit
- As of 7:30 am, YIAGA AFRICA WTV observers reported that INEC officials had arrived at 52 of the 53 polling units in the 7 LGAs where the supplementary elections held. By 10:00 am, 52 polling units had commenced accreditation and voting.
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- All of the 53 polling units had 4 or more polling officials present with at least 1 female polling official.
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- APC party agents were present in all the polling units while PDP party agents were seen in 51 of the polling units.
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- One or more essential materials like the register of voters, indelible ink/marker pen, polling official stamp, voting cubicle, ink pad, the gubernatorial ballot box, and polling unit booklet were seen in all the polling units. Specifically, Smart Card Readers were present in all the 53 polling units.
- Election Procedures at the Polling Units (Accreditation and Voting, Counting, Announcement and Posting of Official Governorship Results)
- The Smart Card Reader was not used for the accreditation of voters in 7 of the 53 polling units. Of these 7 polling units, 5 are in Lokoja LGA and 2 in Kabba/Bunu LGA. In addition, voters were allowed to vote in these polling units without using the Smart Card Reader to verify their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).
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- In 50 of the 53 polling units, only voters whose names were in the register of voters were allowed to vote.
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- In one of the polling units (St. Paul’s Sch II Kabba, Kabba/Bunu LGA), counting was done in a venue (polling unit) different from where accreditation and voting was conducted.
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- In 49 polling units, INEC polling officials counted the number of unused ballot papers; in 43 polling units, INEC polling officials counted the number of spoilt governorship ballot papers; and in 44 polling units, INEC polling officials counted the number of counterfoils for the ballot papers. However, INEC polling officials did not show how every ballot paper was marked to all party agents and observers in 2 polling units.
- The polling unit level results were not posted for the public to see in 7 polling units. The polling units involved were located in Lokoja, Mopa Moro and Kabba/Bunu LGA.
