With a few days till the people of Ekiti State choose their next Governor, CrowdForce sought insight into voter’s intentions and the rationale behind those intentions.

Ahead of every election, political parties choose their flag bearer and hold mega rallies to bolster the image of their candidates, and to convince the electorate on why they are the best choice for the elected position. Furthermore, it is common for candidates and/or political parties to publish their manifestos; a document that details their policies, aims and objectives. If elected, voters are expected to hold them accountable to the content of their manifesto.

Unfortunately, in many Nigerian elections, even when published, voters pay no mind to manifestos. This may be because a manifesto is not legally binding on the issuer and can easily be tossed aside by a candidate when in office. So, beyond manifestos, voters who support a candidate or political party usually do so for certain reasons.

CrowdForce, a data crowdsourcing platform (crowdforce.io), conducted an opinion poll to explore the reasons behind voter intentions. Findings from the poll shows that the popular reasons includes: continuity of government, candidate’s antecedents and educational history. Other reasons are party loyalty, personal preference and likelihood to deliver on expectations.

Majority of the respondents who indicated their intention to vote for the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Kolapo Olusola, highlighted continuity of government as the reason for their intention. This is not surprising because according to opinion polls by CrowdForce, 2 out of 5 residents of Ekiti State are satisfied or extremely satisfied with the outgoing government in which Prof Olusola is the Deputy Governor.

Kolapo Olusola’s level of education was the second popular reason given by voters who intend to vote for him. Prof Olusola bagged a Ph.D. in Building Structures from the Obafemi Awolowo University in 2005 after completing a Master degree in Construction Technology at the University of Lagos in 1993. Besides this, Ekiti State is thought to be among the top 5 most educated states in Nigeria and though there is no evidence to back this up, it follows that the residents of the State would choose to vote a candidate because of their academic achievements.

For Kayode Fayemi, the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the satisfaction rate from his first term as Governor of the State is the most popular reason for voters who intend to vote for him. Dr Fayemi was Governor between October 2010 and October 2014. During his time as Governor, Ekiti was ranked number 4 and 17 out of 36 for ease of dealing with construction permits and ease of starting a business respectively by the World Bank.

A sizeable proportion of voters who intend to vote for Dr Fayemi stated that they would do so because they expect him to pay salaries and employ people. The issue of non-payment of salaries by the outgoing government is one that has been decried by organised labour and thus, it is logical that voters would make the payment of salaries a factor in choosing their next Governor.

Beside all these, on a scale of preference according to the Polls conducted by CrowdForce, the electorate in Ekiti prioritise job creation, education, agriculture, economy and security over healthcare, power, roads and housing. With over 80% of voters choosing job creation as the topmost focus area of the next government over roads and housing, at 12% and 2% respectively. The next government, irrespective of who is eventually elected should consider this.