The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub (EU-SDGN EOH) has identified delayed commencement of voting, challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and gaps in election logistics as some of the major issues observed during Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
The Hub said it deployed 823 accredited observers across the state’s 30 local government areas to monitor the election.
Presenting the Hub’s preliminary election-day statement in Osogbo, the executive director of the International Press Centre (IPC), Lanre Arogundade, said observers monitored the opening of polling units, availability of election materials, voter accreditation, turnout, participation of women and persons with disabilities (PWDs), security, and other aspects of the electoral process.
According to the Hub: “Out of the 823 polling units where our observers were deployed, polling officials with a complete complement of both sensitive and non-sensitive materials were present in 726 polling units.”
The observers also reported delays in the commencement of voting in some polling units.
They called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take urgent action by deploying election personnel and materials to locations where voting had not commenced by noon.
The Hub further recommended that where voting could not commence within the required timeframe, INEC should consider rescheduling the exercise where necessary.
The observers also raised concerns over technical challenges involving the BVAS, the system used to verify and accredit voters.
They called for urgent technical intervention in polling units where BVAS-related problems were affecting the accreditation process and causing delays.
The Hub also expressed concern about accessibility for vulnerable voters, particularly elderly persons, pregnant women and Persons With Disabilities.
It urged relevant authorities to ensure that such voters could participate in the electoral process safely, conveniently and with dignity.
The observers called on security agencies to maintain a visible but restrained presence at polling units and collation centres.
“Security personnel should maintain a visible but restrained presence at PUs and collation centres and avoid any perception of heavy-handedness.”
They also urged security agencies to pay particular attention to high-risk areas and ensure the safe movement of election officials and election materials from polling units to collation centres.
The Hub called on political parties and candidates to ensure that their agents focused on lawful observation of the electoral process rather than intimidation or vote trading.
It urged contestants to “abstain from vote buying and discourage polling agents and supporters from vote trading at the polling units.”
The observers also warned against attempts to undermine the post-election process through unofficial announcements of results.
They urged the media to refrain from announcing election results before the Independent National Electoral Commission makes an official declaration. Journalists were encouraged to focus on real-time fact-checking during the counting and collation process to counter misinformation and disinformation.
The EU-SDGN EOH said its observers would continue monitoring the election beyond the polling units, including the counting, collation and transmission of results through the Registration Area, Local Government and State Collation Centre levels.
The Hub said it would release a comprehensive post-election report after the official declaration of the results.
It also urged all political parties and candidates to remain calm and pursue any grievances through lawful and judicial channels, in line with the Peace Accord signed on July 30, 2026.
The EU-SDGN EOH described the Osun governorship election as “a critical test of the new electoral legal framework and a bellwether for the 2027 General Election.”
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