2023: Yiaga Africa, Other CSOs Release Election Manipulation Risk Index, List 22 Affected States
- The build-up to the 2023 general elections slated for Saturday, February 25 has been greeted with a fresh twist
- A pre-electoral observation released by Yiaga Africa and other civil society groups revealed that some states are at risk of electoral manipulation
- Now fewer than 22 out of the 36 states of the federation were listed amongst those at high risk of electoral fraud and other related electoral ills
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FCT, Abuja - Ahead of next month's general election slated for Saturday, February 25, Yiaga Africa and other civil society groups has released its election manipulation risk index (EMRI) and list of states that are likely to be prone to electoral malpractices and other electoral ills.
This development was revealed in a joint press briefing attended by Legit.ng at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja on Friday, January 27.
Source: Twitter
The coalition of CSOs stated that attempt to distort the outcomes of next month's general election using a series of manipulation strategies is on the rise.
These coalitions include Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre, Institute for Media and Society, Partners for Electoral Reform, The Albino Foundation, The Nigerian Women Trust Fund and The Kukah Centre
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Others include, Enough is Enough Nigeria, Center for Journalism Innovation and Development, SBM Intelligence and Dataphyte.
The coalition listed political interference with INEC operations, tampering with the voter register, frivolous litigations and resistance against electoral technology like BVAS and IReV, and administrative lapses as electoral risks that may potentially impugn the integrity of the 2023 elections.
What is EMRI
According to the coalition, the Election Manipulation Risk Index (EMRI) was designed to facilitate systematic and coherent monitoring of the insidious nature of election manipulation in the build-up to Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.
As gathered by Legit.ng the central focus of the EMRI is election administration, and it seeks to provide citizens with a clear understanding of what constitutes election manipulation and the role of citizens in risk mitigation.
The coalition said:
"It should be seen as a rapid scanning tool rather than an in-depth solution for threats of election manipulation. While other forms of manipulation can take place, the EMRI focuses on six variables for tracking election manipulation.
"They include: "INEC capture, manipulation of the voter register, voter suppression, resistance to the election technology, especially BVAs and IReV, history of election manipulation, and election litigation."
List of states with election manipulation risks
As contained in the EMRI report made available to Legit.ng by Yiaga Africa, at least 22 states out of the 36 states of the federation are at risk of election manipulation risks and other ills.
According to the report, the states are classified as high-risk due to the presence of more than three out of the six EMRI variables.
These states include Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa.
2023 polls: Full list of top 10 safest states in Nigeria
Meanwhile, the bane of insecurity in Nigeria has become one of the most frequent conversations amongst Nigerians for almost a decade.
New statistics released on Sunday, January 8 have revealed the top ten safest states in Nigeria.
Ekiti state of southwest Nigeria topped the list having recorded six deaths caused by insecurity for the year 2022.
Source: Legit.ng
