By Sunmola Olowookere

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) has called on all institutions – INEC, Police, EFCC, ICPC – to remain impartial and to carry out their duties diligently and periodically, while noting that these services, though often thankless, remain important.

Making this call were Prof. Adele Jinadu,
Chair, CDD Election Analysis Centre and Dr. Dauda Garuba, Director, CDD-West Africa, at a press conference held in Akure, Ondo State capital, on Friday, November 15, 2024.

Welcoming pressmen to the opening of its Election Analysis Centre (CDD-EAC) ahead of the November 16, 2024 Ondo State Governorship Election, the centre, through the duo of Prof. Jinadi and Dr. Garuba noted that two million, fifty-three thousand, and sixty-one (2,053,061) registered voters in the state are expected to make their voices heard in electing the next state governor.

Expressing heartiness that 85.6% of the citizens have collected their permanent voters’ card (PVC), it however raised concerns that this will not translate into a high enough turnout.

Ahead of the election, the centre informed that it had carried out a pre-election assessment trip that formed the basis of its published reports, gave room for group discussions and training of its
recruited in-state deployment.

“We have deployed 90 trained and accredited observers across all 18 local government areas, with our methodology targeting polling units with high volumes and prior history of election-related issues.

We have also deployed 14 ‘soldiers of mouth’, who will help in addressing information disorder incidents, corroborate fact-checks, and help us monitor the ways that parties, politicians, and even members of the public engage in disinformation.” It stated.

The CDD-West Africa assured that it will effectively monitor the Ondo election, closely observing the pre-election atmosphere as well as Election Day activities to evaluate adherence to national and international standards and aims to promote transparency and support an election outcome that genuinely reflects the will of the people.

The Centre identified some major issues that will shape the election and expressed worry that a possible outcome is low voter turnout and increased voter apathy while hoping that INEC’s voter sensitization efforts, the different campaigns, and the increased focus on the state will encourage citizens to come out and vote.

It commended INEC’s conformity to its pre-determined schedule of events, and the release of necessary data and information before the election saying such activities encourage trust and optimism in the election process.

“We call on INEC to ensure that this practice is maintained during the election and post-election phases. The absence of proper communication leaves room for
unfettered misinformation, which can cause untold disruption and mar analyses of the polls.” It urged.

The Centre also observed that while most governorship elections, especially off-cycle, outpace presidential elections in voter turnout, Ondo State appears to have established a strong correlation.

Giving statistics, it said that In 2012, the governorship election turnout was 38.1%, a number that marginally rose to 38.8% in the 2015 presidential election, before dropping to 35.2% during the 2016 governorship election.

The results of Buhari’s re-election as president in 2019 saw a 32.2% voter turnout, which marginally increased to 32.7% during Akeredolu’s re-election in 2020.

Going by the 29.6% turnout during the 2023 presidential election, we might see the first sub-30% turnout in the Ondo governorship election history.

The Centre warned that Voter’s apathy is dangerous for any democracy as It leads to a lack of accountability, and increased disillusionment which can allow resentment and insecurity to fester.

“As Nigerians in Ondo State go to the polls tomorrow, we urge all institutions connected to the electoral
processes, such as INEC and security agencies, to ensure that they are impartial and conduct a free, fair and credible process and that disinformation, information manipulation, and all forms of computational propaganda does not undermine the participation of historically marginalized groups”

The Centre urged CDD-EAC also called on
fact-checking organizations to strengthen collaboration to achieve better results in countering disinformation.

“We have carried out extensive fact-checks, under a project that has been well supported through the National Democratic Institute (NDI). To combat gendered disinformation and its debilitating effects on the participation of women, the CDD-EAC calls for initiatives, which directly counter misogynistic narratives targeting women in politics.

“Finally, CDD-EAC calls on all citizens of Ondo State to head to the polls with a firm belief that democracy will triumph, just as it urges all political actors to eschew divisive and inciting tendencies capable of undermining peace before, during, and after the election. CDD-EAC will continue to monitor engagements and provide as much support as needed to contribute to peaceful elections in Nigeria.” It concluded.