By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi

Election observation group, Yiaga Africa, has affirmed the credibility of the official results of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stating that its independent verification showed that the results reflected votes counted at polling units across the state.

The organisation, however, expressed concern over widespread incidents of vote buying and voter inducement, describing them as major threats to the integrity of the electoral process and the free expression of voters’ choices.

Presenting Yiaga Africa’s Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) statement in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, Chair of the 2026 Ekiti Election Observation Mission, Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, said the group’s findings were based on reports received from 249 out of 250 sampled polling units spread across the state’s 16 local government areas.

According to her, Yiaga Africa deployed 250 stationary observers, 22 mobile observers and 16 collation observers to independently monitor the election and verify the outcome announced by INEC.

She noted that the election recorded significant improvements in operational efficiency compared to previous governorship elections in the state.

“The 2026 Ekiti Governorship Election recorded notable improvements in election-day administration, particularly in the early deployment of officials and materials, timely commencement of accreditation and voting, and the overall peaceful conduct of the process,” she said.

The group also commended security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police Force, for maintaining professionalism and contributing to a generally peaceful electoral environment.

Yiaga Africa disclosed that by 7:30 a.m., INEC officials had arrived at 75 per cent of polling units observed, while deployment rose to 99 per cent by 8:30 a.m.

Similarly, accreditation and voting had commenced in 70 per cent of polling units by 8:30 a.m. and increased to 98 per cent by 9:30 a.m., representing a substantial improvement over the 2022 governorship election when only 24 per cent of polling units had commenced voting by the same time.

On the deployment of technology, the group observed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was available in all polling units monitored.

According to the report, BVAS functioned effectively in 87 per cent of polling units, while technical challenges recorded in 13 per cent of locations were eventually resolved.

Despite the positive assessment, Yiaga Africa identified several areas of concern.

The report indicated that in 10 per cent of polling units, some voters were denied accreditation because the BVAS could not verify their Permanent Voter Cards or authenticate their fingerprints and facial biometrics.

It further revealed that in 14 per cent of polling units, individuals presenting printed slips containing their voter details were accredited and allowed to vote without presenting Permanent Voter Cards.

The organisation also raised concerns over ballot secrecy, noting that in 17 per cent of polling units observed, it was possible at some point to see how voters marked their ballot papers before depositing them in ballot boxes.

According to the report, voters crowded polling officials in 11 per cent of polling units, creating conditions that could compromise orderly voting procedures.

Regarding vote counting and results management, Yiaga Africa reported a generally satisfactory performance by election officials.

It stated that polling officials displayed every ballot paper during counting in 98 per cent of polling units, while official results were posted publicly in 89 per cent of locations observed.

In addition, 88 per cent of presiding officers successfully scanned and transmitted polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while 90 per cent transferred results from Form EC8A to the electronic results platform.

The election observer group said its independent statistical analysis confirmed the validity of the results announced by INEC.

According to the PRVT estimates, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was projected to secure between 2.9 per cent and 4.1 per cent of the vote, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 8.5 per cent and 11.7 per cent, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) was projected to receive between 83.9 per cent and 87.1 per cent.

Yiaga Africa noted that INEC’s official results fell within these statistical ranges, confirming the integrity of the result collation process.

“INEC’s official results for the 2026 Ekiti Governorship Election are consistent with Yiaga Africa’s estimates, indicating that the official results reflect the ballots counted at polling units,” the report stated.

The group explained that if results had been manipulated at ward, local government or state collation centres, the official figures would have fallen outside its estimated statistical ranges.

While validating the election outcome, Yiaga Africa emphasized that widespread reports of vote buying and voter inducement remained a serious concern.

The organisation warned that although the official results accurately reflected ballots counted, the prevalence of inducement could undermine the extent to which the outcome represented the genuine will of voters.

Yiaga Africa also challenged INEC’s voter turnout calculation, pointing out an inconsistency in the number of registered voters used to determine turnout figures.

According to the report, while INEC announced a turnout of 38.7 per cent based on 988,251 registered voters, the figure appeared to have been derived from the 2022 voter register rather than the updated 2026 register of 1,059,360 registered voters.

The organisation’s own estimates placed voter turnout between 34.1 per cent and 38.2 per cent.

Consequently, Yiaga Africa urged INEC to clarify the discrepancy and take corrective measures to avoid similar controversies in future elections.

Among its recommendations, the group called on INEC to strengthen quality assurance in the production and deployment of sensitive election materials, improve transparency in implementing provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, and provide clearer guidance on the use of downloadable PVCs.

It also urged security agencies to intensify efforts against vote buying and voter intimidation through proactive intelligence gathering, arrests and prosecution of offenders.

Yiaga Africa further advised political parties to improve the training of polling agents on electoral laws and procedures while calling for stronger regulation of incumbency advantages and the use of state resources during elections.

The organisation commended the people of Ekiti State for their peaceful conduct throughout the election and urged citizens to remain actively engaged in governance by holding elected leaders accountable for their promises.

Yiaga Africa said a more detailed post-election report containing additional findings and recommendations would be released in the coming weeks.