Yiaga Africa Urges INEC to Replicate Osun Election Success in 2027 Polls

Yiaga Africa, through its Chairman of the 2026 Osun Election Observation Mission, Dr. Asmau Maikudi, has called on Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to replicate the successful conduct of the recent Osun gubernatorial election in the upcoming 2027 general elections.

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The task for INEC is therefore to convert the lessons from Osun into institutional standards. That means strengthening quality assurance for sensitive materials; resolving inconsistencies in voter data; standardizing implementation of downloadable PVCs and other provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

Maikudi presented a post-election report, backed by the European Union, stating that INEC demonstrated its capacity to achieve high operational standards. This includes effectively applying the Electoral Act 2026 and ensuring transparent result transmission when elections are well-resourced and closely observed. The task for INEC, she emphasized, is to institutionalize these lessons learned from the Osun exercise across all polling units and states in 2027.

Key recommendations from Yiaga Africa include strengthening quality assurance for sensitive electoral materials, resolving inconsistencies in voter data, and standardizing the implementation of downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and other provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. The group also called for greater transparency in INEC's Results Viewing (IREV) portal and the institutionalization of prompt public communication in cases of technological or operational failures.

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INEC should issue binding, uniform guidance to presiding officers on the acceptance of downloadable PVCs and usage for voter accreditation.

Furthermore, Yiaga Africa challenged security agencies to maintain neutrality while intensifying enforcement against vote buying, intimidation, and electoral violence. The report also recommended a comprehensive post-election technical audit of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices to identify failure causes and improve testing, maintenance, and support to minimize disruptions during voter accreditation in future elections. INEC is also urged to publish the causes of BVAS authentication failures and the remedial measures planned for 2027.

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They 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.