The Executive Director of Kinpact Development Initiative (KDI), Mr. Bukola Idowu (KDI), has expressed concern over the widespread vote-buying that characterized the September 21 Edo State governorship election.
Mr Idowu said in the group’s report that vote buying was observed in all three senatorial districts where voters were lured with money or material incentives ranging from £1,000 to £10,000, undermining the credibility of elections. He said there is.
KDI’s position was contained in a post-election report provided to Benin City’s leadership, which praised the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
She said: “The 2024 Edo gubernatorial election displayed a wide range of electoral experience, with some aspects laudable, others expressing concern and others downright alarming.
“On the positive side, we applaud the relatively peaceful situation that characterized voting day, despite notable tensions in the pre-election phase.
“We believe this was strengthened by the relative adequacy of the professionalism of police forces and security personnel to allow the movement of essential workers in most local governments, as permitted by the people of Edo.” I am.
“District 4: There were few reports of a shortage of security personnel in certain security units, such as PU9, but upon receiving this information security agencies provided reinforcements at 11am.
“Despite the fact that there was very little violence or police disruption at the collation centers in Esan Central, Ovia South West, Oredo, Egor and Ikpova Oka local governments. “It’s remarkable,” she said.
Mr. Idowu further said that the KDI report shows that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is malfunctioning due to technical issues, adding that special officers have been called to the PU to initiate the process. He pointed out that he did not have the password details on arrival.
