The 88 accredited Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that observed the Kano State Local Government Election have submitted their report to the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC).
The report was compiled under the coordination of the Kano Civil Society Election Observation Mission facilitated by Citizens for Development and Education (CDE).
Addressing journalists on Sunday, the group said, the polls were held in the best interest of the citizens.
Led by Comrade Victor Kalu, Director of Grassroot Development and Peace Initiative, the CSO observer group expressed satisfaction with the peaceful and orderly manner in which the elections were conducted, despite the absence of security personnel.
According to him, the Local Government election is crucial as it is closest to the public, and the Supreme Court’s ruling on financial autonomy for local governments made it imperative for the state to conduct the elections to avoid forfeiting its allocation.
The CSOs observed that election materials arrived late at some polling units, particularly in Ungogo LGA. Some polling units witnessed poor voter turnout in LGAs like Fagge and Ungogo, and election personnel were inadequately trained in election management, data entry, result tabulation, and records.
However, the group said the successes were that the Kano State Local Government election actually took place as scheduled on Saturday, October 26th, 2024, and was generally peaceful despite the tension created by the conflicting court judgments regarding the election and the absence of policemen to provide election security across the 44 LGAs.
It also noted that despite the confusion created by the court judgments and the police’s absence, voter turnout for the election was impressively high compared to previous local Government elections in the state; the Kano citizens complied with the non-movement order and participated quite impressively in the election exercise.
The CSO observer report recommended that KANSIEC should put in place measures to address non-supply or delay in the supply of election material to polling units in subsequent elections, all Stakeholders especially KANSIEC, and the political parties should emphasize voter education, awareness creation, and mobilization at list 3 months before elections
“This will stimulate the electorate for better turnout on Election Day and there should be serious training for all Adhoc staff on effective ways to discharge their duties in subsequent elections,” the report added.
The report of the local government election was officially submitted to KANSIEC.
Chairman of KANSIEC, Prof. Sani Lawal Malumfashi, received the report and praised the CSOs for their contributions to the success of the elections.
