The Kimpact Development Initiative has said the 2026 Osun State governorship election, although largely peaceful, exposed serious weaknesses in Nigeria’s electoral process, including delays, uneven BVAS performance, voter inducement, alleged security interference and discrepancies in result management.
The organisation made this known on Thursday during its post-election assessment of the governorship poll, warning that the shortcomings must be addressed before the 2027 general elections.
The Executive Director of KDI, Bukola Idowu, said the election demonstrated that Nigeria’s electoral institutions and citizens could participate in a competitive off-cycle election without widespread disruption.
He, however, said the relatively peaceful conduct should not overshadow the weaknesses recorded during the exercise.
“Most polling units observed by KDI were able to conduct voting; election materials were available in the large majority of locations; and Election Day remained relatively peaceful compared with the pre-election period,” Idowu said.
He added that the election exposed areas requiring urgent institutional reforms, particularly in election administration, technology, security and result collation.
“The election nevertheless exposed weaknesses that should not be overlooked simply because the process remained broadly peaceful,” he said.
Idowu listed delays in election administration, uneven BVAS performance, voter inducement, reports of security interference, localised violence and discrepancies identified through result analysis among the concerns.
He said the lessons from Osun were particularly important ahead of the 2027 elections.
“For KDI, the central lesson from Osun is that peaceful voting is a necessary condition for electoral credibility, but it is not sufficient on its own,” she said.
According to him ,credible elections also depend on voters being free to make their choices, consistent application of electoral rules, professionalism by electoral and security personnel, reliable technology and accurate result collation.
KDI Faculty Member, Maupe Ogun-Yusuf, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to improve its election-day operational preparedness, particularly the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
She said technical support should be strengthened to reduce accreditation delays and prevent elderly voters from being disenfranchised.
Ogun-Yusuf also called on INEC to improve its communication around result management and the electronic transmission of results through IReV, especially during upload interruptions.
She said timely information would help reduce uncertainty, misinformation and public anxiety.
KDI further urged the commission to clarify the validation rules for the e-EC8A and establish a clear reconciliation process for conflicting result records.
The organisation raised concerns over discrepancies between accredited voters and votes cast in some polling units.
It said 82 polling units where accredited voters exceeded votes cast required particular attention, although it stressed that such discrepancies did not, by themselves, constitute evidence of electoral irregularity.
KDI also observed a difference at the state collation centre, where 1,010,684 accredited voters were reported against 1,005,800 votes cast, leaving a difference of 4,884.
Ogun-Yusuf said the discrepancies underscored the need for clearer reconciliation between accreditation, voting and result-management processes.
She said the issue required further technical review before the 2027 general elections.
On security, retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Abutu Yaro, commended security agencies for their deployment and professionalism during the poll.
He said the heavy deployment was a proactive response to the heightened cases of pre-election violence recorded across the state.
“KDI observers generally reported that in most cases, security personnel discharged their responsibilities professionally and contributed to maintaining order at polling locations,” Yaro said.
However, he disclosed that seven per cent of processed reports received through KDI’s Election Day Data and Reporting platform indicated alleged interference in the electoral process by security personnel.
He said the incidents were reported in Odo-Otin, Ifedayo, Ede South, Ifelodun, Atakumosa West, Oriade, Ife North, Obokun and Ilesa West.
Yaro added that KDI also received reports linking some security personnel to vote-trading activities.
He stressed that the allegations represented a minority of observations and should not be generalised to the overall conduct of security agencies in Osun.
However, he said the reports highlighted the need to maintain operational neutrality and public confidence in security personnel.
KDI said it verified 17 election-related violence incidents across 10 local government areas, with more than 44 documented victims.
The incidents included gunshots, physical assaults, intimidation and harassment.
Voting was disrupted at one polling unit in Ejigbo Local Government Area, leading to the cancellation of the election in the affected area.
The organisation said violence was not widespread across the state, noting that Ejigbo and Osogbo recorded the highest proportions of verified incidents.
KDI Faculty Member and Professor of Political Science at Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja, Ernest Ekere, said the organisation also received reports of vote trading and voter inducement across the 30 LGAs.
According to him, party supporters accounted for 46.8 per cent of reported actors, followed by party agents with 29.8 per cent.
Voters accounted for 10.6 per cent, while community leaders represented 9.6 per cent.
Ekere said reported inducements included food items, drinks and cash payments ranging from N5,000 to as much as N50,000.
He said the methods of inducement appeared to be becoming more discreet, with vehicles and small businesses allegedly being used as locations for facilitating payments away from polling units.
“This pattern is significant because it demonstrates that monitoring conducted solely within the immediate polling-unit environment may not capture the full inducement ecosystem,” Ekere said.
He described voter inducement as a continuing electoral integrity concern because it could affect voters’ ability to exercise independent choices.
KDI consequently called on security agencies to strengthen pre-election conflict prevention and early-warning mechanisms.
It also urged authorities to promptly investigate and prosecute those arrested for election-related offences and provide appropriate information on the progress of cases.
Political parties and candidates were advised to promote issue-based campaigns, deploy properly trained polling agents and pursue alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms where possible.
KDI also urged civil society organisations and development partners to sustain voter mobilisation and strengthen civic accountability platforms ahead of the 2027 elections.
The organisation called on the media to avoid amplifying unverified claims, inflammatory rhetoric and misinformation capable of escalating political tensions.
It urged journalists and media organisations to use their platforms to improve public under
standing of electoral procedures, result management and lawful dispute-resolution mechanisms.
