Yiaga Africa has predicted low voter turnout for the governorship elections on Saturday, November 11th, due to a wave of violence occurring prior to the poll and concerns about voter intimidation.
Speaking at the pre-election press conference ahead of the 2023 governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States, they advocate for an eleventh-hour confidence-building voter education to improve voter turnout.
In October, the independent National Electoral Commission conducted a successful mock accreditation exercise in the three states to test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and INEC Results Viewing Portal
However, the turnout for the exercise was abysmally poor, as noted in Yiaga Africa’s observation report on the mock accreditation.
Over 5 million voters are registered with Permanent Voter Cards to elect governors across Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States.
Despite this number of registered voters, Yiaga Africa still projects a low turn out due to the spate of attacks and the prevalence of election motivated violence during campaigns in the states.
They are concerned that the volatility could potentially limit voter participation and the situation could be exploited to intimidate and attack political opponents.
They recommend that INEC ensure the early deployment of election materials to all polling units.
They urge voters to resist efforts to purchase their votes, turn out in their numbers and vote according to their preferences on November 11th.
