Yiaga Africa commends Osun voters, urges INEC to improve BVAS and security

The election observation group Yiaga Africa has commended the voters of Osun State for their resilience and active participation in the recent governorship election.

Yiaga Africa praised residents who not only cast their ballots but also remained at polling units to safeguard the integrity of the vote. Presenting its post-election report, the organization highlighted that the election demonstrated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can achieve high operational standards when properly funded and closely monitored. The election also showed INEC's capacity to implement the Electoral Act 2026 and transmit results transparently under favorable conditions.

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Osun demonstrates that INEC can meet a high operational standard, apply the Electoral Act 2026 and transmit results transparently when the election is well resourced and closely watched.

However, Yiaga Africa challenged INEC to replicate this success across all 176,000 polling units in Nigeria's 36 states during the 2027 general elections. The organization noted that a single-state election benefits from a concentration of resources and attention not available for national polls. "Osun demonstrates that INEC can meet a high operational standard, apply the Electoral Act 2026 and transmit results transparently when the election is well resourced and closely watched," stated Yiaga Africa Chairperson Dr. Asmau Maikudi.

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That performance now has to be reproduced across 176,000 polling units and 36 states in 2027, without the concentration of attention and resources a single-state election attracts.

Looking ahead to 2027, Yiaga Africa urged INEC to institutionalize the lessons learned from the Osun election. Recommendations include improving quality assurance for sensitive election materials, resolving inconsistencies in voter data, and standardizing the implementation of downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). The group also called for strengthening the resilience and transparency of the Election Result Viewing (IReV) portal and ensuring prompt public communication during technological challenges.

Addressing challenges observed during the election, such as vote buying, security concerns, and glitches with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), Yiaga Africa proposed specific measures. These include issuing clear guidance to presiding officers on the acceptance of downloadable PVCs and conducting a comprehensive post-election technical audit of BVAS devices to identify and rectify causes of failure. The organization stressed the need to minimize disruptions to voter accreditation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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INEC should conduct a comprehensive post-election technical audit of the BVAS devices to identify the causes of the failures and strengthen device testing, maintenance and rapid technical support to minimise disruptions to voter accreditation ahead of the 2027 general elections.