Ekiti Decides: EU-SDGN Observation Hub Proposes 17 Measures to Strengthen Election Credibility

The European Union Support to Democratic Governance Observation Hub in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) has listed 17 recommendations to enhance the credibility of the Ekiti State governorship election holding on Saturday.

The Hub, comprising the Kukah Centre (TKC), TAF Africa, the Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Yiaga Africa, the International Press Centre (IPC), and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), in its pre-election statement on the Ekiti State Governorship Election on Friday, having reviewed the atmosphere and preparations for the election by all stakeholders, called attention to certain areas for consideration to enhance the credibility of the election.

These include timely distribution of election materials to all polling units on election day; ensuring the readiness of the BVAS and availability of backups; seamless electronic transmission of validated polling unit results; and activation of the situation room to deal with incidents and security alerts during the election.

Others include the announcement of results in a transparent and timely manner and respect for the sanctity of the Peace Accord by pursuing grievances through lawful and judicial means rather than through protests, violence or self-help.

Here is the full statement released by the Election Observation Hub:

PRE-ELECTION STATEMENT ON THE EKITI STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION ISSUED BY THE EU-SDGN ELECTION OBSERVATION HUB, 19^TH JUNE 2026

INTRODUCTION

The Ekiti State off-cycle governorship election will take place tomorrow, Saturday, 20^th June 2026. The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Election Observation Hub, comprising the Kukah Centre (TKC), TAF Africa, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Yiaga Africa, the International Press Centre (IPC), and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), has deployed election observers across the state ahead of the election. This pre-election statement, which is a follow-up to the pre-election assessment report issued on 25^th May 2026, presents the EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub’s final assessment of the pre-election environment. The assessment is based on direct field observations, engagement with stakeholders and a review of available information in the public domain.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has accredited 98 election observer groups, comprising 96 domestic and two international organisations and 91 media organisations that are expected to deploy approximately 675 journalists for the election. As part of the accredited observer and media groups, the EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub affirms its commitment to the independence, impartiality and non-partisanship that are the foundation of credible election observation with a clear mandate to observe, document and report on the electoral process without fear or favour and in strict adherence to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers and in compliance with the INEC Code of Conduct for Observers.

The Ekiti State governorship election is of considerable national significance. As the first major governorship election to be conducted under the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026, INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2026 and INEC Manual for Election Officials 2026, it will serve as a critical performance test to assess some of the new provisions in the electoral legal framework aimed at strengthening the integrity and transparency of the electoral process.

The election will be contested by 13 political parties and their candidates across 2,445 polling units in the 16 Local Government Areas of the State, with 1,059,360 registered voters and 1,028,929 collected PVCs. Reports from our observers indicated that the political party leaders and candidates are largely living up to the provisions of the Peace Accord that they signed on 21^st May 2026 under the auspices of the National Peace Committee (NPC). Most political actors have conducted their campaigns in an orderly manner, demonstrated respect for the rule of law and generally exercised some restraint over their supporters, with only isolated cases of misconduct. However, the political landscape has undergone significant realignment, and this evolving configuration has heightened electoral competition and increased political tensions in the State.

We expect political party agents to be present at polling units, ward collation centres, and other designated electoral locations in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and relevant INEC guidelines. As critical stakeholders in the electoral process, the party agents should conduct themselves in a peaceful, responsible, and lawful manner, respecting the authority of election officials and security personnel.

We call on political parties and candidates to condemn all acts of vote trading and vote-buying in all its forms, shun the use of thuggery, refrain from spreading fake news, misinformation and disinformation that is capable of inciting violence and allow citizens to exercise their franchise without hindrance, coercion or fear of reprisal.

INEC PREPAREDNESS

INEC has declared its operational, technological and logistical readiness for the election with the completion of eight out of nine scheduled pre-election activities, remaining only the conduct of the election. INEC has also deployed some National Commissioners and RECs to Ekiti to support the election and confirmed the distribution of non-sensitive and sensitive election materials, the configuration of the BVAS machines, the recruitment, training and deployment of election duty officials, arrangement with transport providers for the seamless deployment of personnel and materials to the various election sites and readiness to implement its accessibility measures, including priority voting for vulnerable persons and provision of assistive voting devices. Furthermore, INEC conducted a mock accreditation exercise to test the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). However, the mock accreditation did not include testing transmission to the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), which is crucial for ensuring the credibility and transparency of the election. Despite these efforts, we noted a disappointingly low turnout for the mock accreditation exercise. This low participation raises concerns about public awareness and engagement with the electoral process, as effective voter accreditation is essential to prevent fraud and ensure that the election results reflect the true will of the electorate.

While these efforts are commendable, the Commission must maintain its neutrality and vigilance by ensuring strict adherence to the electoral legal framework, timely and flawless deployment of personnel and materials, transparent and accurate collation and announcement of results and prompt electronic transmission and uploading of validated PU results.

ELECTION SECURITY

The EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub notes that the overall atmosphere in the state in the run-up to the election is generally peaceful and calm in contrast to earlier governorship elections that were fiercely contested. Nevertheless, there are specific security challenges, including the vulnerability of Ado-Ekiti to urban electoral violence and the exposure of Ikole, Moba, and Ilejemeje Local Government Areas to cross-border criminal activities, especially kidnapping. Security and law enforcement agencies have deployed their personnel across the state in accordance with the operational order, and the Nigeria Police Force, as the lead agency in election security, has assured all stakeholders of a comprehensive security arrangement before, during and after the election.

We urge all security and law enforcement agencies to remain highly professional, impartial and diligent in discharging their primary responsibility of guaranteeing the safety and security of voters, election officials, the media, accredited observers and other stakeholders. Most importantly, they should adopt the use of aggressive intelligence-led operations to combat and mitigate the menace of vote trading.

INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATION

The EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub is concerned that limited public attention has been given to measures to facilitate the participation of women and persons with disabilities in the election. In addition, there are little or no visible efforts towards preventing and responding to election-related violence against them. The Hub is particularly worried about the vulnerability of women in rural and low-income communities to voter inducement through economic coercion and the ability of PwDs to get to their polling units due to restrictions on movement. Furthermore, deliberate measures are required to inform PwDs about the availability and use of assistive voting devices to enable them to vote independently.

We therefore urge INEC, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations and relevant stakeholders to ensure the full, safe and unhindered participation of women and PwDs in the electoral process.

VOTER INDUCEMENT, DISINFORMATION AND POLITICAL INTIMIDATION

The menace of voter inducement remains a significant threat to the credibility of elections. There are reports of the use of money, food items and other materials to influence voters and an organised vote-buying scheme, involving the use of pre-credited bank accounts for harvesting details of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and National Identification Number (NIN) in exchange for their votes, in Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ikole, Ikere, Ekiti East and Ekiti West LGAs, raising concerns about misuse of personal data for voter manipulation. In addition, there are reported cases of political intimidation involving the use of political thugs and disruptions of campaign activities in Ado Ekiti, Ikole and Oye LGAs, which undermine voter confidence and public trust in the electoral process. Furthermore, there are reported cases of alleged police detention of political opponents without recourse to the judiciary through the use of FORM K.

The pre-election information environment is increasingly plagued by misinformation, disinformation and inflammatory political communication, particularly across digital platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and X (Twitter). These include the unverified claims circulating within the public space of plans by a political party to use cloned Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in obtaining a predetermined number of votes, generating confusion and increasing political tension.

THE EU-SDGN ELECTION OBSERVATION HUB RECOMMENDS AS FOLLOWS:

To INEC

Complete the timely distribution of sensitive election materials to all polling units across the state to ensure they open by 8:00 am on election day.
Ensure that all BVAS devices are properly configured, tested, charged and safe, with contingency arrangements to deal with any technical challenges on election day to avoid disruptions during accreditation.
Guarantee the seamless electronic transmission of validated polling unit results in real time as stipulated in the Electoral Act 2026.
Activate the INEC Situation Room and the Security and Alert Notification System (ISANS) to deal with any incident before, during and after the election.
Announce results in a transparent and timely manner at all levels, from polling units to the registration areas, local government areas and the state collation centres.

To Political Parties and Candidates

Respect the sanctity of the Peace Accord in its spirit and letter as a binding commitment towards a peaceful election by accepting the outcome of the election as declared by INEC and pursuing any grievances through lawful and judicial means rather than through protests, violence or self-help.
Refrain from vote-buying, voter intimidation and deployment of political thugs at all polling units and collation centres.

To Security Agencies

Maintain neutrality and professionalism at all times by protecting the electoral process and stakeholders.
Avoid excessive militarisation of the electoral process by deploying in a protective and not suppressive manner, which may intimidate or suppress voter participation.
Respond rapidly and proportionately to any incidents of electoral violence, harassment or disruption without partiality.

To the Media

Verify all information before publication to avoid reporting fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
Refrain from publishing or broadcasting results from unofficial sources or on social media until the officially declared result by INEC at the appropriate collation level.
Adopt conflict-sensitive reporting on all aspects of the election to give the public a comprehensive and accurate picture of the electoral process and to douse tension.
Promptly report any threat, denial of access to election sites and restriction of movement to accredited journalists.

To Voters

Come out in large numbers, arriving at your designated polling unit by 8:30 a.m. to ensure timely accreditation and voting in exercise of your constitutionally guaranteed right to vote.

Vote freely and independently based on your conscience and not on inducements or intimidation.
Report any incident of violence, vote-buying or electoral malpractice to INEC officials, security agencies or accredited observer groups present at the polling unit or collation centre.

The SDGN Election Observation Hub reiterates that the Ekiti State Governorship Election of 20^th June 2026 is an important milestone as the first major poll under a new electoral legal framework and a dress rehearsal for the 2027 general election. The Hub urges all stakeholders — INEC, political parties and their candidates, security agencies, the media, civil society organisations, and most importantly, the voters of Ekiti State — to discharge their respective responsibilities with integrity, professionalism, and a sincere commitment to democratic principles. If the 97.1% rate of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) collection is an indication of the willingness of eligible voters to exercise their franchise, all electoral stakeholders must work to ensure that the fear of potential violence, economic hardship and seeming lack of confidence in the electoral process do not deter them from doing so. The people of Ekiti State deserve a free, fair, credible and inclusive election that will transparently and accurately reflect their sovereign will.

An Election Day statement and post-election report will be issued by the EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub during and after the election and declaration of results.

Signed on behalf of the Election Observation Hub