Situation Room Calls For Independent Audit Of INEC After Off-Cycle Election

The Civil Society Situation Room has called for an audit into the conduct of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following its poor conduct at the off-cycle governorship elections that were held in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa on Saturday.

Making this call in its final assessment report in the aftermath of the state governorship elections in the three states, the organisation said it was disappointed with the conduct of the off-cycle governorship election.

It argued that the elections fell far below the threshold of what credible elections should be.

“Situation Room is deeply disappointed with the conduct of the governorship elections that held in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States and worries that the elections fell far below the threshold of credible elections,” the statement by situation room read.

“These elections represent a major setback in Nigeria’s democratic development. Situation Room calls on INEC to fully review the election in Kogi and Imo states and identify the incidents of malpractice that took place and reflect the genuine votes of the people,” it added.

The organisation also reiterated its earlier call for an “independent audit of election administration in Nigeria and compliance with electoral laws by INEC.”

Naija News reports that the call comes a few hours after YIAGA Africa faulted INEC for its conduct of the off-cycle elections.

YIAGA said that the election umpire missed a chance to rebuild public trust in the country’s electoral process with its conduct at the off-cycle governorship polls.