The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) West Africa has lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its conduct during the recent Edo off-cycle governorship election.

Adele Jinadu, chairman of CDD’s Election Analysis Centre, expressed his commendation at a post-election observation news conference on Monday in Abuja.

He said CDD deployed 70 accredited observers across 18 local government areas to monitor the electoral process.

Mr Jinadu noted that the organisation’s observers reported positively on the availability and efficiency of INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.

“The BVAS and iReV Technology efficiently carried out accreditation and were used in virtually all polling units in a timely manner,” he said.

However, Mr Jinadu highlighted some malfunctions, including a case in Esan North-East where the BVAS was not fixed.

He also reported slow uploads, blurry image capturing, and over-voting.

Mr Jinadu commended INEC’s overall conduct but recommended improving crisis communication to boost voter confidence and curb disinformation.

He also advocated for increased voter education and partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency to mitigate weather-related issues.

Mr Jinadu commended the electorate for their calm and peaceful conduct during the polls.

(NAN)