Low voters’ turnout mars 2020 Edo governorship election

In the wake of a global pandemic that has once put the world in a tailspin and cast uncertainty on many activities, Edo people went to polls to choose the next leader to steward the state’s ship.

Though the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that there are 2,210,534 registered to vote in the state, in the election that happened from the 18 Local Government Areas, 192 Wards, and 2,627 polling units in the state, only 1,726,738, collected their permanent voters’ cards (PVC) were eligible to vote in the election.

On Saturday, when the governorship election was held, the voters’ turnout, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was at a historical low at 25 per cent amid the tension of impending violence and rift. In 2016, the last time a governorship election was held, the turnout stood at 32 per cent.

Despite predictions to the contrary, the election was mostly peaceful. Except for some parts of the state where violence erupted, the capital, Benin City, was calm, with election observers meandering around.

Below is a table showing the number of registered and accredited voters in each local government and the percentage of voter’s turnout.

S/N	LOCAL GOVERNMENT	REGISTERED VOTERS	ACCREDITED VOTERS	PERCENTAGE
1	Akoko Edo	119254	46967	39
2	Egor	219832	39709	18
3	Esan Central	57100	17931	31
4	Esan North East	84245	28241	33
5	Esan South East	76842	20274	26
6	Esan West	99983	25530	25
7	Etsako Central	50058	16092	32
8	Etsako East	81639	28464	34
9	Etsako West	160137	48846	30
10	Igueben	46828	13404	28
11	Ikpoba/Okha	315410	61731	19
12	Oredo	313553	64783	20
13	Orhionmwon	118672	24868	20
14	Ovia North East	143009	28607	20
15	Ovia South West	96409	24558	25
16	Owan East	91841	34819	37
17	Owan West	61193	23294	58
18	Uhunmwode	74529	16741	22
	TOTAL	1726738	557443	25

In this year’s election, 25 per cent voters turned out for the election in the state.

Owan West Local Government had the highest number of voters that turned out for the election with 53 per cent, however Egor Local Government had the lowest with 18 per cent.

The average for this year voter’s turnout is lower than the year 2016.

‘Cause’

Giving the cause for the low turnout in the just concluded election, the Accountability Program Manager at the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), Mboho Eno, in an interview with this reporter, said, “The low turnout of voters is largely due to heighten the level of violence during the campaigning period. The reports in the media portrayed the election as being a violent one almost like what was witnessed in Kogi State.”

Mr Mboho also said, “Voter apathy is as a result of votes not counting previously. Citizens are consistently losing faith in the electoral process. Some are of the opinion that the judiciary is rendering citizens’ voices useless with the manner of electoral justice dispensation.

“There was also no adequate citizens’ mobilization, even after the tension was doused. Political parties, CSOs, INEC and socio-cultural groups need to do more in mobilising citizens to turn out to perform their civil responsibility.

He further said that “The fact that the two main political parties did not present the people with any fresh alternative might have contributed to the poor turnout.

“Political parties in Nigeria need to start propagating an ideology rather than just a hunt for power without focus. The 2016 major contestant only switched parties this time and did not bring anything new to entice the people.”