How Kwara Electoral Body Suppressed Voter Participation And Rigged Results For APC – Investigation

How Kwara Electoral Body Suppressed Voter Participation And Rigged Results For APC – InvestigationIn a two-month-long investigation, The Informant247 uncovered significant evidence of electoral manipulations orchestrated by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) during the September 21 local government elections. The investigation reveals a series of discrepancies in the election results, widespread voter suppression, and disenfranchisement caused by shortages of electoral materials, despite billions of naira allocated for the elections. The report also features exclusive footage showing officials tampering with thumb-printed ballot papers. When approached for comment, the electoral chairman harassed, threatened, and briefly detained our journalist in his office.
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The events unfolded on a Wednesday in Kwara State, with just four days remaining before an election that was expected to usher in new, democratically elected local government leaders, after over three years of governance by a Transition Implementation Committee. The Nigerian government had recently vowed to stop releasing allocations to states without democratically elected local council executives, following a Supreme Court ruling granting them full autonomy.

All eyes were on the newly appointed Chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), Mohammed Baba-Okanla. In his 60s, this appeared to be his first major assignment, but he confidently addressed the media, outlining plans for a smooth election during a press briefing organized by the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ilorin. Baba-Okanla assured the public that the commission had worked diligently to ensure a free, fair, and credible election. He emphasized the importance of a credible voter register and assured that polling units would open at 8:00 a.m., with voting concluding at 3:00 p.m., followed by the immediate sorting, counting, and collation of results.

However, by the close of polls on Saturday, September 21, social media was already filled with complaints of fraud, intimidation, and voter disenfranchisement. Despite these concerns, Baba-Okanla appeared early the next day, reading shakily from his phone to announce the results. According to him, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had won all 16 local government chairmanship positions and secured all 193 councilorship seats.

How Election Results Were Manipulated

An investigation by The Informant247 has revealed several key findings pointing to manipulation of the election results. While the official figures declared by KWSIEC showed a clean sweep for the ruling APC, with a 100 percent victory across all 193 wards and 16 local governments, our investigation uncovered discrepancies that suggest a different outcome.

In Patigi Ward 3, located in the Patigi Local Government Area, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate actually won the councillorship seat, contrary to the official results. According to result sheets obtained by our team, the PDP secured 677 votes, while the APC received 638 votes. The PDP won in 5 of the 8 polling units in the ward, while the APC only claimed victory in 3. The voter turnout in the ward was 27%, with other parties collectively securing just 12 votes.

These findings, along with numerous other instances of electoral fraud and manipulation, have raised serious concerns about the integrity of the local government elections in Kwara State, prompting calls for a full investigation into the conduct of the electoral body.

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