The Nigerian Human Rights Community has called for wide ranging reforms to strengthen the country’s electoral process, while describing the June 20 governorship election in Ekiti State as credible, free and fair.

Briefing journalists in Lagos on its assessment, coalition leaders including Martins Adeleke, Fred Ojinika and Akinwale Kasali recommended special voting arrangements for essential workers such as journalists, health personnel and security operatives, and pressed for amendments to the Electoral Act to allow independent candidacy and to ease voting for the elderly, pregnant women, nursing mothers and persons with disabilities.

The group asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to open more polling units across Ekiti to improve access, and voiced concern over low turnout despite the peaceful atmosphere, blaming economic hardship, transport difficulties, security worries and waning confidence in democratic dividends.

Having deployed 200 monitors, the coalition said the result reflected the genuine wishes of Ekiti voters and met national and international standards. It praised the orderly, violence-free conduct of the poll and credited the real-time transmission of results and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System with curbing ballot snatching and other fraud.

The group also commended the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Bunmi Omoseyindemi, and his team for what it called transparent and efficient management, describing the election as among the most peaceful in the state’s history.