Yiaga Africa Deploys 3,336 Observers For Nigeria’s Election

By Bukar Bolori

Yiaga Africa is deploying a total of 3,836 observers throughout the country for the election holding on Saturday 25th February.

Yiaga Africa is a non-profit civic hub of change makers committed to the promotion of democratic governance, human rights and civic engagement

A statement on Thursday by the Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo revealed that the observers comprised of 3,014 stationary Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) observers deployed to a random representative statistical sample of 1,507 polling units; 822 roving observers across the 774 LGAs and 36 states; and eight Working Group members who run real-time election analysis.

Itodo said Yiaga Africa will also deploy observers to the LGA and State Results Collation Centres in every state. “Our observers will observe the entire election day process from set-up of the polling units through the announcement, posting of the official results and uploading of the polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal,” he disclosed

He further explained that: “The observers will send in periodic reports to the Watching the Vote National Data Centre located in the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja where they will be processed and analysed.

“This deployment will enable Yiaga Africa to provide the most timely and accurate information on the election process. Based on reports from its observers in the sampled polling units Yiaga Africa will also provide an independent projection of voter turnout and will be able to project the vote shares that each party should receive within a narrow estimated range.”

He said: “If the official results fall within Yiaga Africa’s estimated ranges, then the public, political parties and candidates should have confidence in the ballots cast at the polling units. Only INEC, however, has the legal mandate to announce the election results. As soon as INEC announces the official results, Yiaga Africa will follow up with a result verification press conference to share its own statement on the accuracy of the election results and will publicize these projections.”

Itodo said: “Utilizing information communications technology and statistical principles, PVT is the gold standard for citizen election observation and has been utilized throughout Africa and the world. Yiaga Africa has also deployed this methodology in the 2019 presidential election and in eleven (11) off-cycle gubernatorial elections in Nigeria.”

Yiaga Africa restates its commitment to the objective, non-partisan and credible observation of the election. The Watching The Vote is “Driven by Data – For All Nigerians – Beholden to None!”