More than 70 per cent of persons with disabilities (PWDs) turned out to exercise their franchise at designated polling units monitored during the ongoing Osun State governorship election, the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub (EU-SDGN EOH) has disclosed.
The observation was contained in the Hub’s preliminary election-day statement presented in Osogbo by representatives of the Kukah Centre (TKC), TAF Africa, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Yiaga Africa, the International Press Centre (IPC) and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO).
The statement was presented by Samson Itodo of Yiaga Africa, Barrister Asabe Ndahi of the Kukah Centre, Akin Akingbulu of CEMESO, Lanre Arogundade of IPC, Brenda Anugwom of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund and Jake Epelle of TAF Africa.
According to the Hub, its observers found the voting process to be largely inclusive, with noticeable participation by women and PWDs across the polling units monitored.
It reported that more than 70 per cent of PWD voters turned up at the 12 designated PWD polling units observed by its field teams, describing the turnout as an indication of significant participation by voters with disabilities.
Women also recorded a strong presence, accounting for about 59 per cent of voter turnout in the polling units monitored. They also constituted 36 per cent of polling officials and played active roles as polling agents.
Despite the encouraging level of participation, the Hub called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen measures aimed at ensuring that PWDs and other vulnerable groups have full, unhindered and meaningful access to the electoral process.
It urged INEC to improve accessibility at polling units and ensure that voting arrangements adequately address the needs of elderly persons, pregnant women and voters with disabilities.
The observers specifically recommended closer monitoring of priority voting arrangements and the availability and effective use of assistive devices for PWDs and other vulnerable voters.
The call came amid other challenges recorded during the election, including security incidents and electoral irregularities.
As of noon, the Hub said its observers had recorded 38 security incidents, including 25 cases of thuggery, 12 attacks on electoral officials and nine cases of voter intimidation allegedly involving security personnel.
At the 726 polling units observed, the Hub also recorded 323 cases of electoral offences and irregularities. These included 103 cases of vote trading, 12 incidents of multiple voting, 28 cases involving the inducement of polling and security officials, 38 cases of campaigning at polling units, 14 cases of voter impersonation and seven cases of misconduct by election officials.
Other incidents recorded included 31 cases of obstruction of voters and 85 cases involving the exposure of ballot papers.
The Hub urged security agencies to maintain professionalism, impartiality and neutrality throughout the electoral process, while ensuring that their presence at polling units remained visible but restrained.
Political parties and candidates were also urged to ensure that their agents focused on lawful observation of the process rather than intimidation, voter inducement or vote trading.
The observers further called on voters, including PWDs, to cast their ballots independently, reject inducements and promptly report incidents of vote buying and other electoral offences to INEC officials, security personnel or accredited election observers.
The Hub also urged INEC to deploy necessary technical support and backup Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices to polling units where accreditation devices malfunctioned, while ensuring the timely deployment of election materials and personnel.
It called on the commission to ensure that results forms were displayed at polling units after voting and that polling-unit results were promptly uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
The observers stressed that sustained attention to inclusion, accessibility, security and electoral integrity would be essential to ensuring that the participation of PWDs and other vulnerable groups translates into meaningful and unhindered political participation throughout the electoral process.
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