Claims
Different claims surfaced online on August 15 during the Osun Governorship election, highlighting disruptions at different polling units during voting.
Areas indicated in the claims were Ikire LGA, Ward 4 Unit 4 & 5. Ejigbo, Ward 8 Olorunda LGA Unit 20, Orisunbare unit 1 Atakunmosa East and Irewole Local Government Area.
In Ikire, a man in a viral video published by the Punch claimed that some supporters of a particular political party disrupted voting in the polling unit, attacking opposition representatives and supporters. The claim was also found on another mainstream media organisation’s website, here.
Also, Channels Television published a post on its Instagram handle, claiming that voting was disrupted, as violence broke out at a polling unit in Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State.
Why We Checked
Violence is one of the situations in an election that could trigger voter apathy and also disenfranchise many voters whose polling units are affected.
Also, there is the need to set straight the records of violence that have been reported on the day of the election to enable voters make informed decisions.
Verification
On-Site Reports From Observers: CEMESO had, prior to the commencement of election deployed election observers to different areas of the state, to feed reports to the situation room.
Corroborating the claims they reported that there were incidents of disruptions in Ikire LGA, Ward 4 Unit 4 & 5. Ejigbo, Ward 8 Olorunda LGA Unit 20, Orisunbare unit 1 Atakunmosa East and Irewole Local Government Area.
Mainstream Media Reports: Also, different mainstream media organisations highlighted earlier reported these incidents of violence in the locations.
Normalcy Restored: Furthermore, the media organisation that reported the disruption of voting process, further highlighted that normalcy was restored to the locations by security personnel deployed to quell the uprising.
Verdict – True
While the police or any security agencies are yet to release a statement on the reported disruptions of election process at different polling units, there are confirmed media reports and on-ground observers’ verified reports of the locations where the disruptions happened to support the claim that there were cases of disruptions.
