The group asks INEC to clarify "inconsistencies" in the election results.
Yiaga Africa, a civil society organisation, has faulted the presidential election results in Rivers and Imo States declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) saying the results were inconsistent with its observations.
This is contained in a post-election statement of the group released in Abuja on Wednesday and signed by Aisha Abdullahi, the board chair and Samson Itodo, the executive director, Yiaga Africa.
"The state-level presidential results for Imo and Rivers are inconsistent with the Yiaga Africa Watching The Vote (WTV) projections for both states.
"For Rivers, INEC announced 231,591 votes for APC or 44.2%; 175,071 for LP or 33.4%; and 88,468 for PDP or 16.9%. This is in sharp contrast to the Yiaga Africa WTV estimates for Rivers which are: APC 21.7% ±5.0%; for LP 50.8% ± 10.6%; and for PDP 22.2% ±6.5%.
"For Imo, INEC announced 66,406 for APC or 14.2%; 360,495 for LP or 77.1%; and 30,234 for PDP or 6.5%. Again, this is at variance with the Yiaga Africa WTV estimates for Imo which are: APC 5.1 ±2.3%; LP 88.1% ±3.8%; and PDP 5.7% ±2.3%," it said.
Yiaga Africa had deployed 3, 014 observers to a random sample of 1, 507 polling units and 822 mobile observers in all the 774 local government areas in the country, including Abuja.
The group said it arrived at its position based on "reports from 1,454 of 1,507 (97%) sampled polling units in Nigeria."
It therefore said "INEC should clarify the inconsistencies in some of the results, especially presidential election results from Rivers and Imo states."
Yiaga Africa called for a fundamental reform of INEC to allow the electoral commission to have authority over its state structures and ultimate responsibility for the conduct of elections.
Logistical challenges mars election
The group commended INEC for local production of sensitive materials and early deployment of the materials to the state but however said the Election Day process was marred by widespread logistical challenges.
Some of the challenges Yiaga Africa highlighted in its post-election statement include late arrival of polling officials and late opening of polling units across the country particularly in South-east and South-south geopolitical zones.
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"Voting was extended to the late hours in some polling units affected by logistical hiccups," the group said.
Yiaga Africa lamented the delay in uploading the polling unit results for the presidential election on the INEC Results Viewing (IRev), a development it said "is a flagrant disregard of INEC's Regulations and Guidelines," and added that INEC has "failed to meet citizens' expectations."
According to the group only 73 per cent of the polling units results were successfully uploaded on Wednesday - four days after the election, a situation it said cast doubts on the credibility of the results management process owing to "broken public trust in electoral technology".
"The 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections were a missed opportunity. Factors like serious logistical and technological shortcomings, non-compliance with electoral guidelines, lack of transparency, and manipulation of election results undermine public confidence in INEC and the overall outcome of the elections.
"Yiaga Africa notes that the integrity of electoral outcomes are influenced by processes and procedures. Therefore, a compromised process will produce questionable outcomes."
"Yiaga Africa condemns the cases of violence and disruption of the voting and results collation process by thugs and hoodlums, especially the violence targeted at National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) members and INEC staff. These cases of violence undermine Nigeria's electoral reform project."
