Group congratulates CENI and security agencies for credible elections

The Coalition of Accredited Election Observers (CAEO) has commended the conduct of the 2024 Edo State governorship election, which held on September 21, describing it as free and fair.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Abuja, the National Secretary of CAEO, Ogwilaya Sunny, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for ensuring a peaceful voting process.

Sunny pointed out that despite initial logistical challenges in some areas, such as late arrival of materials in Etsakor East local government area and minor technical issues with the BVAS machines, CENI officials quickly resolved these. problems. Elections started on time in most polling stations, with voting extended in areas that experienced delays.

CAEO reported no incidents of voter intimidation or disenfranchisement and noted that security personnel maintained order throughout the day.

He said that while some cases of vote buying and ballot theft had been reported, these were not significant enough to affect the overall outcome of the election.

Sunny further commended INEC for adhering to the use of BVAS machines and uploading the results to the IREV portal as required by the 2022 Electoral Act.

The group encouraged all dissatisfied parties to seek legal redress rather than resorting to self-help and stressed that while no election is perfect, the efforts of the CENI and security personnel contributed to the credibility of the Edo governorship election.

The group also urged the CENI to resolve logistical issues during the upcoming elections to ensure smoother processes.