The 2023 General Elections were held for the Presidential and National Assembly positions on the 25th of February 2023, across Nigeria. The Gubernatorial election was, however, organized to elect new governors in 28 out of the 36 states in the country.  In states where governorship elections did not hold, elections were held to fill positions for the State Houses of Assembly as well.

In Delta state members of the Civil Rights Council monitored the state elections held on the 18^th of March 2023 and their report from three local governments was documental below

OSHIMILI SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

• In Oshimili South Local Government Area, elections were conducted in 9 wards. In Ward 4 Unit 23 situated at Asagba Mixed Secondary School Asaba, Security personnel were seen in and outside of the polling unit. Electoral officers and voting materials arrived at the venue at 7:30 am and voting started at 8 am. The elections were generally smooth as all Party agents were present, BVAs were in good working conditions, results were uploaded and sent to the INEC server and there was no report of human rights violations and abuse.
• Ward 9 Units 50 and 51 situated at Open ground opposite BEDC Anwai road I and II respectively also recorded smooth elections. Security personnel were deployed to the polling units and all party agents were present. Electoral officers and voting materials arrived at both venues at 8:15 am while accreditation and voting commenced at 9:30 am. The BVAs were in good working condition and the results were uploaded and sent to the INEC server. There was no human rights violation or abuse at the venues.
• The same could be said of Ward 9 unit 9, Ogwa Umuagu-Ogbe Onishe I. Elections were smooth and peaceful. Electoral officers arrived at the venue at 8:00 am and voting began at 8:30 am. There was no reported case of electoral violence or abuse of human rights, the BVAs worked well and results were uploaded and sent to the INEC server.
• A smooth election was also recorded at Ward 6 Unit 17, Umuonaje Dustbin Street Ibusa Express Junction. But elections started a bit late as electoral officers arrived at the venue at 11:25 am. Accreditation of voters and voting commenced at noon. Other than that, the election was peaceful.

Accreditation and voting ongoing in one of the polling units using the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) in Warri South LGA, Delta State.

Things were however different in some four polling units in the local government where few unarmed security personnel were deployed and attempts were made to disrupt the elections.

• In Ward 6 Unit 13, Koka Interchange Park, Koka Junction, electoral officers, and voting materials arrived at 12:45 pm while accreditation and voting commenced at 1:20 pm. All party agents were present and BVAs were in good condition, but the election process was interrupted by thugs believed to be from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Human rights were violated, and assaults were made on some Labour Party (LP) and All Progressive Congress (APC) voters and agents.
• Electoral officers and voting materials arrived at 7:30 am in Ward 11 Unit 33, Ogbe Ofu, and voting began at 8:00 am.  An attempt to foil the election process was made by some thugs, but the timely intervention of armed security personnel helped restore some normalcy. One APC agent was assaulted and stabbed; the victim is currently in the hospital receiving treatment. Despite this, the election was successful. Results were uploaded and sent to the INEC server.
• A similar situation was recorded in Ward 7 Unit 6, 7 & 8 Ogwa Umuagu- Umuhabame/Ogbeani by Magistrate Court 1. A voter was assaulted with a bottle, leaving the voter with a broken head but the results were uploaded and sent to the INEC server.           
• In Ward 11 Unit 2, 3, 4 &5, Ahabam Primary School Jarret Cable Point, electoral officers, and voting materials arrived at 7:30 am while accreditation and voting began at 8:00 am. The election was smooth despite attempts by some thugs to disrupt the electoral process. Results were successfully uploaded and sent to the INEC server.       

OSHIMILI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

• In Ward 4 units 3, 10 & 13 Nkpazunor hall Igbusa I, security personnel were seen in and around the polling unit. Electoral officers and voting materials arrived at the venue at 7:30 am and voting started at 8 am. The elections were generally smooth as all Party agents were present, BVAs were in good working conditions, results were uploaded and sent to the INEC server and there was no report of human rights violations and abuse.
• The same situation was recorded in Ward 9 Unit 26, Oluchi Comprehensive Secondary School Amachi Okpanam where electoral officers and voting materials arrived at the venue at 7:25 am and voting commenced at 8:00 am.

ANIOCHA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE

• The election was observed to be peaceful at the Ward 2 Unit 28 polling unit situated in Ogbe Ogwudei Square, Ogwashi Ukwu I. Security personnel were deployed to the polling units and all party agents were present. Electoral officers and voting materials arrived at both venues at 8:15 am while accreditation and voting commenced at 8:40 am. The BVAs were in good working condition and the results were uploaded and sent to the INEC server. There was no human rights violation and abuse at the venues
• According to Comrade Joy Edigbine, Secretary General of Civil Rights Council Delta state /Asaba Unit Coordinator, this year’s election in the state witnessed low voter turnout. She also observed that there were massive cases of vote buying but fewer cases of human rights violations and abuses. She also mentioned that most INEC officials appeared to be working in fear of the unknown.