By Josephine Oguntoyinbo

An election monitoring organisation, YIAGA Africa, has called on all stakeholders to collaborate in making the Ondo State election a model for other elections by showcasing a collective commitment to democracy and peaceful coexistence.

It added that the Ondo governorship election will test the determination of key stakeholders and citizens to promote electoral integrity and sustain democratic processes in Nigeria.

The election monitoring non-profit organisation stated this in its pre-election press conference in Akure.

It observed that the pre-election environment and reports indicated that Ondo State experienced a relatively peaceful pre-election period.

“Security concerns leading up to the election in Ondo State have remained low, with only a few incidents reported. INEC has conducted and completed most of its preparatory activities in Ondo. The Commission has assured the public of its commitment to enhancing voter accreditation, results uploading, and logistical processes.

“We commend INEC for its proactive measures and collaboration with security agencies to ensure a smooth electoral process, including the release of voter registration and Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) collection rates at the polling unit level. As revealed by INEC, 85.6% of PVCs have been collected.

“As election day approaches, we urge all stakeholders to commit to a peaceful, fair, inclusive, and credible electoral process. We commend the 18 governorship candidates for signing the Peace Accord.

“We urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enhance coordination and communication with the transport companies and unions that provide logistics support.

“It is essential to ensure the timely delivery of materials to the Registration Area Centres (RACs) and to facilitate the early deployment of materials and personnel to polling units on election day.”

YIAGA Africa advised political leaders and candidates to act responsibly by promoting peace and ensuring that activities on election day adhere to the rule of law and respect the rights of others.

The organisation called on INEC to be proactive and ensure a seamless process, encouraging security agencies to strictly enforce laws and regulations against voter inducement, vote-buying, ballot box snatching, and other electoral malpractices. “Arrest and prosecute individuals and groups found engaging in illegal activities and remain impartial.”

“YIAGA Africa will follow up with a result verification press conference to share its statement on the accuracy of the election results. Utilising information communication technology and statistical principles, PRVT is the gold standard for citizen election observation and has been used throughout Africa and the world.”