The Yiaga Africa Watching The Vote on Sunday described the turnout of voters in Saturday’s off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State as very low.
Yiaga Africa said this in a preliminary report collectively signed by Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu and Cynthia Mbamalu, Chair of the 2024 Ondo Election Mission and Director of Programmes for Yiaga Africa respectively and launched in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The group stated preliminary estimates revealed that turnout for the 2024 Ondo governorship election will fall “between 24.8% and 27.6%, primarily based on outcomes collated from the polling items, utilizing the PRVT’s election remark methodology.”
It added that, “If the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC’s) official turnout falls inside WTV’s estimated vary, then it precisely displays the voters’ turnout at polling items.
“Whereas the outcomes collation course of continues, we urge INEC to make sure transparency and cling to the outcomes collation pointers.
“We additionally urge the safety businesses to stay skilled and nonpartisan as they safe the outcomes collation course of.
“Yiaga Africa calls on political events, stakeholders, and residents to stay calm and keep peace as INEC collates the election outcomes.”
It assured Nigerians and stakeholders that it has acquired and processed its knowledge from the sampled polling items and can share its findings on the outcomes solely after INEC formally introduced the election outcomes in keeping with the Electoral Act.
Yiaga Africa had on Saturday stated the off-cycle governorship election was characterised by large vote shopping for, including that voters accepted as little as N5,000 earlier than casting their ballots.
