FCT Elections: Yiaga Africa decries alleged vote buying, others

2026-02-21 - 18:27

By Gabriel Ewepu ABUJA – IN its preliminary statement on the 2026 FCT Area Council Elections, Yiaga Africa revealed that in some polling units there was alleged voting buying by some party agents and other challenges experienced including late opening of polling units, deployment of election materials, among others. Speaking at a press conference, the Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, and Director of Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu acknowledged the general peaceful atmosphere of the elections, which had chairman across the six Area Councils of the FCT, and for 62 Councillorship seats. Yiaga Africa deployed trained and duly accredited roving observers to systematically monitor the conduct of the elections. Itodo said: “Vote buying: The persistent menace of vote buying once again manifested during the election. “Yiaga Africa observers documented incidents of vote buying at polling units, underscoring the continued vulnerability of the electoral process to monetary inducement. “Despite prior assurances and directives issued by INEC to security agencies to identify and apprehend both vote buyers and sellers, these illicit practices reportedly continued in several locations. “WTV observers roving in the six Area Councils. Late Opening of Polling Units: Yiaga Africa observers reported a delayed commencement of polling in several polling units, primarily attributable to logistical inefficiencies and, in some instances, election security–related challenges. “As of 9:00 a.m., set-up activities were still ongoing in the majority of polling units observed, indicating that essential preparatory procedures had not been completed within the timeframe prescribed by electoral guidelines. “In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), particularly in Wuse and Gwarinpa wards, several polling units opened significantly behind schedule. “Observers noted that polling officials were still arranging materials and organizing the voting environment as at 9:00 a.m., with accreditation and voting commencing only after 10:00 a.m. On average, across the sampled polling units observed, accreditation and voting began at approximately 10:00 a.m. “Deployment of Election Materials: Consistent with the Commission’s guidelines, critical election materials including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and the voter register—were deployed in the polling units observed. “However, in Polling Unit 004, Wuse Ward, Zone 2 Primary School, the voter register was not initially available and was only produced after observers raised concerns and voters objected. “In addition, essential voting materials were absent in certain locations. Voting cubicles were not observed in PU002 (Ward 09), PU006 (Ward 01), and PU012 (Ward 10) in Abaji Area Council. Furthermore, an ink pad required for the voting process was reportedly missing in one polling unit observed. “Redistribution of Voters to Newly Created Polling Units without Notice: Observers reported instances in which voters were reassigned to newly created polling units without prior or adequate notification. While Yiaga Africa acknowledges INEC’s efforts to notify affected voters via SMS, many of these messages were delivered on Election Day, with some received hours after polling had already commenced. “The lack of timely and effective communication generated confusion at several polling locations, as numerous voters spent over an hour attempting to ascertain their designated polling units. “In multiple instances, this administrative shortcoming contributed to congestion and overcrowding, thereby undermining orderly queue management and potentially discouraging voter participation.The observation further revealed significant disparities in voter distribution within the same polling locations. “Such pronounced imbalances raise serious concerns regarding the coherence, and reliability of the Commission’s polling unit expansion and voter redistribution framework. “Security Deployment and Observer Access: Yiaga Africa observed heavy security deployment in certain locations, which, in some instances, impeded the movement of accredited election observers and restricted access to polling units. “Observers further noted that the heightened security presence created barriers for citizens attempting to access polling units to exercise their right to vote.” However, Yiaga Africa recommended that INEC officials must ensure that the Form EC 60E which is the People Results sheet is posted in the polling units and that the BVAS is used to upload all the PU results sheet Form EC8A to the IReV and properly transmitted to the ward collation centres. Security agencies should ensure that their personnel conduct themselves with the highest level of professionalism and maintain strict impartiality during the other aspects of the elections, especially, at the collation centres. Their role should be limited to safeguarding voters, election officials, and materials, while refraining from any actions that could compromise the integrity, transparency, or credibility of the election. Political parties, candidates and their supporters to refrain from disrupting the process and attempts to undermine the elections.