Peoples Advocates: Rivers LG Poll Fails Credibility Test

Election observer group Peoples Advocates has condemned the Rivers LG Poll for lacking credibility, pointing to various irregularities during the election process. Read their detailed findings.

An observer group, The Peoples Advocates (TPA), which monitored Saturday’s local government elections in Rivers State, has declared the exercise lacking credibility due to numerous irregularities.

In its report on the election, TPA noted this observation.

Despite attempts by the camp of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike to halt it, the highly contentious election proceeded across 23 local government areas in Rivers State.

Governor Sim Fubara proceeded with the election, defying a court order that prohibited the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) from conducting it.

Candidates from the All People’s Party (APP), who are considered to be loyal supporters of Fubara, secured victories in 22 out of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

While it praised the Rivers electoral commission for organizing the election, TPA observed that several irregularities occurred during the poll.

Sections of the report state, “We acknowledge RSIEC’s efforts in conducting this election during a challenging period in Rivers State’s political history. However, we believe improvements are necessary to establish an equitable environment for all political parties and candidates, ensuring a free and fair election.”

The observer group reported several irregularities that undermined the election’s credibility, such as missing result sheets, instances of violence, and improper collation processes.

In Phalga LGA, the credibility of the election process was undermined in locations such as D. Line Ward 1 (units 8, 9, and 10), Ward 4 (units 48-51), Ogbunabali Ward areas including Wards 2 and specific parts of Ward 3, as well as Oroworukwu’s Ward within units like unit numbers from five to nine due to a lack of Result Sheets. Agents representing Labour Party along with other politically-affiliated representatives demanded these sheets and threatened to halt voting if they were not provided.

“The systemic failure of RSIEC undermined the credibility of the polls and endangered the lives of the Ad-hoc staff.”

The group also criticized the use of manual voting in the election. According to TPA, this method is not only outdated but also susceptible to result manipulation.

The manual voting process used by RSIEC, along with the use of incident forms, is outdated and susceptible to manipulation. Implementing electronic voting and result transmission offers a more reliable solution for conducting credible elections where every vote truly counts.

The report stated that closing the polls early deprived some voters of their right to participate.

The report further stated: “In several polling units, materials either arrived late or never arrived, and secret balloting was compromised due to the non-use of cubicles. This could lead to open voting that might influence those voters who fear retaliation if they don’t support a specific party or candidate.”

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“Our Situation Room noted that the procedure lacked a robust internal mechanism for addressing grievances or dissent prior to announcing the results. This approach could potentially incite violence or deter genuine candidates with legitimate complaints.”

Irregularities in certain polling units need to be resolved before announcing the results. This is crucial to prevent declaring outcomes for locations where elections either did not occur or were compromised by fraud, ballot material theft, violence, and other issues. Such incidents have been observed in this election, leaving impacted candidates with no choice but to seek legal recourse.

This is an inherent flaw in the system that can lead to injustice.

Our observers were unclear about where your Ward and State Collation should occur and who is permitted to enter the “holy sanctuary” to observe the collation process, as well as how you determined your results.

A closed collation process is susceptible to manipulation and should be avoided. To ensure credibility, the aggregated results should be verified against polling unit data. Ultimately, the entire election lacks integrity.

In its report, TPA stated that observers were not provided with the phone numbers of electoral officers responsible for overseeing LGAs and wards. Consequently, when incidents arose, observers did not know who to contact for a response.

Expanding on its observation of “diminished space for opposition,” the group noted, “The whole procedure is biased towards benefiting the current ruling party or candidate. Had the Government maintained a favorable relationship with PDP, PDP would have secured all available seats.”

Such a pattern undermines fair competition and produces unpopular or incompetent leaders who might be benefiting from political patronage or favoritism.

To promote better outcomes in future elections, The Peoples Advocates submitted several recommendations to the Rivers electoral commission.

“To ensure a credible process and the safety of ad-hoc staff, result sheets should be available at all polling units. The electoral laws in Rivers State should be amended to adopt electronic voting. In cases where manual voting occurs, cubicles must be provided at each polling unit. Additionally, both the Rivers State Electoral Laws and RSIEC guidelines should incorporate effective grievance mechanisms (particularly when there is substantial evidence of irregularities) prior to announcing election results; this would encourage genuine aspirants.”

Additional suggestions include ensuring that the collation process is more transparent and accessible to everyone. Temporary staff should receive proper training and be instructed only to close polls at the officially designated time set by RSIEC. All candidates should have equal opportunities, creating a fair playing field for them to compete effectively. Democracy should represent governance by the people, rather than being controlled solely by government entities or interests.