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Politicians engage in fake news to delegitimise INEC – CDD

 

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) said political parties
used fake news to delegitimise Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and the electoral process during Kogi governorship
election.
Mrs Idayat Hassan, Director, CDD, made this known in the group’s
preliminary statement on the conduct of Saturday’s Kogi governorship
election.
Hassan said that CDD’ electoral environment observation report had
previously predicted that political parties would use fake news during
the election to cause confusion.
“Some of the fake news circulated today include the disqualification
of the PDP candidates, false results, fake images of thugs arrested
and snatching of ballot papers.
”CDD fact-checkers were able to debunk most of the fake news.
“The hoaxes are mainly intended at delegitimising INEC and the
process; again, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are the leading
platforms used to spread disinformation. “
Hassan said that earlier, voters across 21 Local Government Areas
(LGAs) of Kogi went to the poll to elect a Governor and in Kogi West,
a rescheduled senatorial election also got underway following a court
verdict .
She said that at the CDD Election Analysis Centre (EAC), reports have
been coming from trained and accredited observers deployed across the
21 LGAs of the state.
She said that the preliminary statement was an overview of the initial
findings on the conduct of the election.
She said that CDD observed use of financial inducements to affect the
outcome of the election.
Hassan said that CDD also noted systematic and coordinated violent
attacks at polling units and carting away of voting materials.
She said that in many polling units, observers and journalists were
blocked from access and taking photographs in what appeared to be an
attempt to prevent gathering of evidence of electoral malpractices.
She noted that the use of violence in the campaign and open threats of
more violence in the election appeared to be a voter suppression
strategy which played out on Saturday.
She said CDD EAC observers reported coordinated disruption of voting
across many polling units with hired thugs invading polling units,
shooting sporadically to scare away voters, and in several cases
carting away voting materials.
“In polling unit 001 in Ward 4, Dekina LGA, CDD observers reported
sporadic gunfire;violent caused by rival party thugs who battled one
other over control of the polling environment.
“These were in Felele and Ganaja areas of Lokoja LGA, especially in
Registration Area 08, Oworo, Felele Area, PU 004. In Ankpa 1 Polling
Unit (PU) with number 2203-04-0 in Ankpa LGA,“she said
Hassan said that notwithstanding the fact that INEC enlisted EFCC and
ICPC’s support in curtailing vote-buying, vote-buying was very rampant
across the state.
She said that CDD observers reported that party agents in several
polling units engaged in the financial inducement of voters to
influence them to vote for their parties giving them between N500 and
N3,000.
She said that as at 11 a.m, accreditation and voting had started in
55.1 per cent of polling units in which CDD deployed observers in
Kogi.
She said that further information revealed that a good number of INEC
ad hoc staff were knowledgeable and familiar with the operation of the
smart card readers in some of the polling units observed.
Hassan, however, said that late delivery of materials experienced in
some parts of the state was primarily due to logistics challenge and
deplorable state of infrastructures like bad roads and difficult
terrains experienced in the deployment of electoral materials.

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