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Despite warnings and planned crackdowns by electoral and anti-corruption agencies, vote buying was reportedly widespread during the August 15 Osun governorship election, with cash allegedly changing hands at several polling units.
Ahead of the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had warned that vote buying would not be tolerated. ICPC had also announced plans to deploy operatives across all 30 local government areas of the state.
However, reports from polling locations indicated that vote buyers still found ways around the security and monitoring measures. Some voters were reportedly offered N15,000, N30,000, N40,000 or more in exchange for their votes, turning some polling centres into what the report described as open-air marketplaces.
The development has renewed questions about the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for preventing electoral inducement and whether enforcement agencies have sufficient capacity to stop vote trading on election day.
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