CSOs, Independents, Flag FCT Council election, Fear for 2027 Polls – Watch Video

Civil society organisations and independent observers have expressed concern on the conduct of the FCT area council election on Saturday.

Three main issues are of concern to them. These are the near absence of any remarkable improvement in performance of the electoral umpire in the conduct of the election, voter apathy at a level never experienced before in the FCT and vote buying which has refused to go away.

At a press briefing in Abuja, election monitoring group Yiaga Africa expressed dissatisfaction with the level of preparedness by the electoral body for the polls.

Addressing journalists at its data centre, Yiaga Africa said it observed delays in the commencement of voting in several polling units, attributing the flaw to logistics challenges.

The group noted that repeated logistics problems should no longer be an excuse for INEC.stressing that there has been little noticeable improvement compared with the last area council elections held in 2022.

Director-General of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, raised concerns about the late signing of the 2026 Electoral Act which he said could create uncertainty about the legal framework for the polls.

YIAGA Africa further reported significant low voter turnout across the six area councils in the territory.

A number of residents have attributed the very low voter turnout to the late redistribution of voters to new polling centres. Yiaga Africa however says the situation may not be entirely linked to the redistribution of voters to new polling units.
According to the group, the electoral commission maintains a threshold for each polling unit, and once that limit is reached, voters are moved to nearby units to ease congestion.

Director of Programmes at Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, said the challenge lies in inadequate voter education on such changes, noting that many voters were not sufficiently informed ahead of the election.

Despite the concerns, Samson Itodo warned that voter apathy could weaken democratic participation but citizens are more likely to vote when they trust that the process is transparent and that their votes will count.

Yiaga Africa says strengthening public confidence in the electoral system remains critical to improving participation in future elections.

However, According to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured chairmanship seats in five area councils — AMAC, Abaji, Bwari, Kuje and Kwali — while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won Gwagwalada Area Council.