The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has protested against the cancellation of 1,084,358 votes across 1175 polling units in 18 States.
The organisation also demanded from the Independent National Electoral Commission, an explanation to the issue of its officials who were forced to announce inaccurate results in Imo State and also take steps to ensure their safety.
While urging Nigerians to be peaceful and law-abiding, as the results are being collated, Situation Room called on political parties and candidates who are aggrieved with the electoral process to ensure that they utilise legally recognised channels to seek redress.
The Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and Convener, NCSSR, Clement Nwankwo, tabled the demands in Abuja on Tuesday night in its fourth interim statement.
According to him, some of the numbers/votes announced so far by State Returning Officers at the INEC National Collation Centre in the ongoing collation process are raising concerns.
He said that considering the fact that there were simultaneous accreditation and voting, a careful look at some of the figures of accredited voters and the total number of votes cast show discrepancies.
Nwankwo said, “As at 6:47pm on Tuesday, February 26, the discrepancy was a total of 513,214, in 27 States including Nasarawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Edo States and the FCT. Situation Room calls on INEC to transparently address this confusion before the completion of result tabulation.
“There is a lack of clarity in the rationale for cancellation of polls. We have recorded 1,084,358 cancelled votes across 1,175 polling units in 18 States. The pattern of this cancellation requires some close interrogation to show fairness and objectivity. The reasons provided for the cancelled votes include over voting, card reader malfunction and violence.
“Situation Room demands that INEC provide clarification on rationale and compliance with its guidelines regarding the cancellation of polls. Accusations that these cancellations may have been contrived to suppress votes need to be taken seriously and addressed before the close of tabulation.
“Situation Room calls on INEC to address the discrepancies in the vote tally and provide cogent explanations for the rejected votes and clearly clarify what amounts to cancelled votes.”