By Angela Atabo/Emmanuel Oloniruha
A coalition of election observation organisations has called for the arrest and prosecution of vote buyers, political party agents and financiers involved in electoral offences ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The organisations under the auspices of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Election Observation Hub, made the call in a report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
NAN reports that the organisations comprise of The Kukah Centre, The Albino Foundation(TAF) Africa, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre and the Centre for Media and Society.
The report, titled “From 2026 Ekiti and Osun Governorship Elections to the 2027 General Election: Lessons Learnt and Recommendations for Enhancing the Conduct and Credibility of the 2027 General Election,” identified key gaps in the electoral process.
Presenting the report, Prof. Bolade Eyinla, Chief Technical Adviser to former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said vote buying, exposure of marked ballots, weak enforcement and inadequate transparency threatened electoral credibility.
Eyinla said although the INEC had made progress in vote counting and tabulation, protecting voters’ freedom of choice remained a major challenge.
He said organised vote trading had shifted the major integrity concern from result collation to ballot secrecy and voters’ independence.
The don noted that party agents were identified as the main actors in about 90 per cent of 84 verified vote-trading incidents recorded in Ekiti, with 77 per cent of the incidents involving them.
“In Osun, vote trading was observed in 69 per cent of polling units monitored, accounting for 108 of the 323 units observed.
“The report noted that voters were often required to display marked ballots to party agents for verification before receiving payments ranging from N10,000 to N50,000.
“Payments were frequently made at nearby houses, shops, kiosks and hotels outside polling-unit boundaries.”
Eyinla expressed concern that no arrests, investigations, charges or prosecutions had been reported at the locations where vote buying occurred in either state.
He also cited allegations of unprofessional conduct, voter intimidation and journalists attacks and assaults involving security personnel, despite the presence of security and anti-corruption agencies.
He said the report, however, acknowledged improvements in election administration, noting that 98 per cent of polling units in Ekiti and 96 per cent in Osun commenced accreditation and voting by 9:30 a.m and use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System(BVAS) improved from to 87 per cent.
The don added that the results declared by INEC were also within the estimated ranges of the Parallel Vote Tabulation conducted independently by Yiaga Africa.
Eyinla said the report identified weaknesses in results transmission, including the absence of published guidelines on backend validation before uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
“The report also raised concerns over the non-uploading of ward and local government result forms, EC8B and EC8C, and the absence of clear rules on which results should prevail in cases of discrepancies.
“It identified inadequate assistive voting devices, including Braille guides and magnifying glasses, and difficulties faced by elderly voters and women wearing face coverings during biometric accreditation.”
To address the challenges, Eyinla said the organisations urged security agencies to investigate electoral offences, extend enforcement to suspected payment centres and publicly disclose the outcomes of arrests and prosecutions.
He said political parties and candidates were also called on to obey electoral laws, avoid abuse of incumbency, train party agents and promote the participation of women, young people and persons with disabilities.
He said the judiciary should conclude pre-election cases promptly, prevent abuse of court processes and ensure impartial adjudication of electoral disputes.
“The report also recommended stronger voter education, fact-checking, protection of journalists and observers, an audit of election technology, timely distribution of election materials and improved training of ad hoc electoral personnel.”
Eyinla called for adequate funding, early preparations, protection against cyberattacks and information manipulation, and transparent, traceable transmission of results from polling units to final declaration.
Earlier, Dr Akin Akingbulu, Executive Director of the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), called for stronger electoral safeguards, improved transparency and inclusive participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Akingbulu said the Ekiti and Osun elections provided important lessons, stressing that credible polls required accurate results, ballot secrecy, freedom of choice and protection for journalists and election observers.
He said more than 1,400 accredited citizen observers monitored the elections across the 16 local government areas of Ekiti and 30 local government areas of Osun, adding that the report was not to find faults but a means of addressing gaps to strengthen democracy.
Akingbulu urged INEC, security agencies, political parties, the media and civil society organisations to address the identified gaps before 2027 general elections.
He added that election observation was intended to strengthen democratic institutions rather than merely find fault.(NAN)
Edited by Deji Abdulwahab
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