The Non-Governmental Organization, Yiaga Africa, on Tuesday, announced its plans to deploy 324 observers for the upcoming governorship election in Ondo State, set for November 16.
This initiative is part of their #WatchingTheVote campaign, aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
The PUNCH reported that during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, the Election Programme Manager for Yiaga Africa, Mr. James Paul, elaborated on the organization’s approach.
He stated, “For the 2024 Ondo State governorship election, #Watching The Vote will deploy observers to a representative random sample of 300 polling units in every local government in Ondo.”
This comprehensive strategy reflects Yiaga Africa’s commitment to promoting democratic practices across the region.
The observers will be strategically placed to oversee critical aspects of the election day proceedings, including the accreditation, voting, and counting processes.
In addition to the 300 polling unit observers, the organization will also field 24 mobile (roving) observers across all 18 local government areas.
“They will use their mobile phones to send coded text messages of observation reports to Yiaga Africa’s WTV Data Centre in Benin,” Paul added, highlighting the innovative methods employed for real-time monitoring.
Each observer will be equipped with a structured observation checklist and a critical incident form to standardize the observation process.
“The WTV observers will report on the opening of polling units, accreditation and voting, counting, and the announcement/posting of results,” he explained.
Furthermore, they will transmit official results as declared by election officials at polling units to the WTV Data Centre, enhancing the accuracy of the information collected.
Yiaga Africa plans to utilize an advanced election-day observation methodology for this election. Citizen observers will randomly sample polling units to gather data on the election conduct and official results at the polling level.
“With the results assembled from the sampled polling units, a citizen observer group can release projected estimates and verify the accuracy of results declared by the election management body,” the organization noted.
This meticulous methodology allows observer reports to be sent via SMS to a central database, facilitating the near real-time analysis and dissemination of findings regarding the election’s conduct.
In detailing Yiaga Africa’s operations, Paul emphasized the organization’s role as a civic non-governmental entity dedicated to advancing democracy, governance, and development in Africa through various means, including advocacy, research, and capacity building.
“Our goal is to build democratic societies anchored on the principles of inclusion, justice, transparency, and accountability,” he asserted.
Yiaga Africa operates as a citizens’ movement, striving to enhance the quality of democratic governance, public accountability, and civic participation across the continent.
Yiaga Africa previously monitored the Edo State governorship election held on September 21, 2024, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to ensuring credible electoral processes in Nigeria.
