The Justice, Development and Peace Maker’s Centre (JDPMC) has reported widespread vote buying during the recently concluded Ondo State governorship election.
Speaking at its post-election press conference, Rev. Father Peter Akinkunmi, the General Coordinator of JDPMC, stated that both major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), were implicated in the illegal practice. According to him, voters were reportedly offered cash payments ranging from ₦3,000 to ₦10,000 in exchange for their votes.
“Incidence of vote buying seem to have characterised the most widespread illegality during the election. Generally, exchange of money or material inducements was not observed in the PUs. But build up towards it was observed therein.
“Voters snapped their thumb-printed ballot papers, took tags from party agents. In some cases, voters registered their names, phone numbers, and account details with party agents.
“Some others received immediate cash from party agents at premises close to the polling units ranging from N3,000 to N10,000. Both the APC and the PDP are alleged to be the primary inducers of voters.
“There was an incident of verbal violence between a party agent and voters at PU 12 Oke Ijebu-Jakos Junction RA 4 Ijomu/Obanla Akure South where voters alleged that the amount they were given was below the original amount approved by the party,” he explained.
Rev. Akinkunmi disclosed that the organisation deployed 18 campaign finance trackers to the state months before the election to monitor the financial activities of political parties.
This, he said, formed part of a broader strategy to provide accurate data and insights into the election process, utilising rovers, a situation team, and the Just-Watcher app for real-time reporting.
The group’s observations at 47 polling units on election day revealed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deployed materials and personnel in a timely manner. However, Rev. Akinkunmi noted that voter turnout was noticeably low.
He said, “Generally, a low voter turnout across the state was observed. In PU 20 RA 1 Okitipupa, voters did not turn out as at 12:00 noon despite the presence of polling officers by 8:30 am.
“JDPMC also observed that voting ended in most of the polling units by 2:30 p.m., and results were collated, announced, and uploaded to the IREV.”
Despite the general orderliness observed in about 98% of polling units, he stated that a few instances of violence were recorded.
In his words, “In Okitipupa Ward 1 Units 19, an argument was observed among party agents that led to a violent incident in which one person was reportedly stabbed.
“In Idanre Ward 7 Unit 3 (Ballot box snatched by unknown gunmen which resulted in violence).”
Regarding the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), JDPMC noted that the devices were available at all observed polling units. In most cases, the accreditation process was efficient, taking less than two minutes.
However, the organisation raised concerns about inclusivity, pointing out that ad-hoc personnel lacked assistive materials for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Security was mostly adequate, with most polling units remaining peaceful throughout the voting process.
He, however, noted isolated incidents of violence in specific areas, raising concerns about the effectiveness of security measures in those locations.
Despite these issues, JDPMC commended the overall improvement in the conduct of the election by INEC and the efforts of security agencies.
The organisation also highlighted discrepancies between the results posted at certain polling units and those uploaded on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IREV), including Odigbo LGA Ward 10 PU 3 St Paul’s Primary School Area, Ore II, and Ward 10 PU 2 St Paul’s Primary School Area, Ore I.
Akinkunmi concluded by acknowledging improvements in INEC’s overall conduct of the election while calling for better deployment of materials and security arrangements in future elections.
JDPMC announced that it would publish a comprehensive report on its observations during the Ondo State election, offering detailed insights and recommendations to improve the electoral process.
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