Osun Election: European Union observers table demands

The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub, EU-SDGN EOH, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to ensure transparent result transmission and deployment of adequate personnel ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.

The EU observers made the demand in a pre-election statement issued during a press conference on Friday.

Jake Epelle, of TAF Africa, and Brenda Anugwom, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, NWTF, on behalf of the EU-SDGN EOH, called on INEC to distribute sensitive election materials to all polling units on time to ensure accreditation and voting commence by 8:30 am.

The election observers also urged the commission to guarantee seamless electronic transmission of validated polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV, in real time and maintain adequate backup capacity for the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.

They asked INEC to publish a clear protocol explaining the end-to-end results transmission process, including the purpose of the electronic EC8A and the backend validation stage before results are published on IReV.

In the same vein, they demanded that Ward EC8B and Local Government EC8C collation result sheets be published on IReV alongside polling unit results.

“This would enable citizens, political parties and observers to verify results at every stage,” they stated.

The observers urged the commission to ensure transparent and timely announcement of results from polling units through Registration Areas and Local Government Areas to the State Collation Centre.

They equally called on INEC to deploy trained personnel and adequate assistive voting devices to facilitate priority voting for women, youths, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable voters.

On political parties and candidates, the EU-SDGN EOH urged them to respect the July 30, 2026 Peace Accord and accept the outcome of the election as declared by INEC.

The observers noted that any grievances arising from the election should be pursued through lawful and judicial means, rather than protests, violence or self-help.

“Political parties should refrain from vote-buying, voter intimidation and deployment of political thugs,” they added.

They also urged security agencies to maintain neutrality and professionalism throughout the election, deploy adequate personnel to critical and high-risk areas and secure transport routes, polling units and collation centres in advance.

The EU observers called for stronger coordination among security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), urging them to respond rapidly and impartially to electoral violence, harassment and disruptions.

They demanded public disclosure of progress on pending investigations into electoral violence, including arrests, charges and court dates, noting that it would strengthen deterrence and demonstrate that impunity would not be tolerated.

They also urged the media to “verify information before publication, avoid amplifying fake news and refrain from broadcasting unofficial election results until they are declared by INEC at the appropriate collation level”.

The observers also called on voters to arrive early, vote freely and independently, reject financial or material inducements and report vote-buying or other electoral malpractice to INEC officials, security agencies or accredited observers.

The EU-SDGN EOH said the recommendations were aimed at supporting a free, fair, peaceful and credible Osun governorship election, urging all stakeholders to uphold their responsibilities throughout the voting, collation and declaration processes.