Breaking: APC’s Electoral Triumph Sees 40,000 Vote Gain, PDP Struggles With 10,000 Vote Deficit

The report, titled “Ballot Integrity Report for the 2024 Edo and Ondo State Governorship Elections”, raises concerns about the transparency of the electoral process, particularly regarding the accuracy of vote collation and data reporting.

It highlights discrepancies between the figures recorded on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Election Result Viewing (IReV) portal and those officially announced by INEC at the state collation centers.

One key finding indicates that the All Progressives Congress (APC) gained an additional 40,871 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost 10,680 votes when comparing IReV data to INEC’s official results.

For instance, in Akoko Edo LGA, the APC gained 9,912 more votes in INEC’s declared results compared to the IReV figures. Similarly, in Oredo LGA, APC’s vote count increased by 13,393 in the official tally. On the other hand, PDP’s votes appeared significantly lower in INEC’s results compared to IReV, with Ikpoba/Okha showing a shortfall of 4,898 votes, and Oredo showing 4,223 fewer votes.

Although these discrepancies did not alter the final election outcome, the report indicates that they substantially affected the margin of victory. The APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo, was declared the winner with 291,667 votes, while PDP’s Asue Ighodalo received 247,274 votes. However, the margin of victory reported by INEC was 44,393 votes, while the IReV data suggests a smaller margin of 8,064 votes.

Additionally, the report identified discrepancies in registered voter numbers in both states and revealed that thousands of ballots went unaccounted for. In Edo State alone, 28,083 ballots were missing, while Ondo reported 12,931 missing ballots, raising questions about the integrity of the electoral process.

KDI’s Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, called for prompt intervention by INEC to address the irregularities and discrepancies identified in the report, emphasizing the need to restore public confidence in the electoral process.