By Sandra Kenneth
Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, international and domestic election monitoring bodies under the umbrella of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub (EU-SDGN EOH) have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to guarantee seamless, real-time transmission of results and early deployment of electoral materials.
The demand was contained in a joint pre-election statement presented at a press conference on Friday by Jake Epelle of TAF Africa and Brenda Anugwom, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), representing the EU-SDGN EOH.
The observer group tasked the electoral umpire with ensuring that sensitive materials arrive at all polling units early enough for accreditation and voting to commence promptly by 8:30 am.
To safeguard the credibility of the process, the observers stressed the need for:
Seamless Result Transmission: Real-time upload of validated polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and robust technical backup for the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Clear Result Protocol: Public disclosure explaining the end-to-end transmission framework, including backend validation and the exact role of electronic EC8A forms before public release.
Full Collation Visibility: Publishing Ward (EC8B) and Local Government (EC8C) collation sheets on IReV alongside polling unit results to ensure citizens, political parties, and observers can verify outcomes at every level.
Inclusive Voting Access: Proper deployment of trained staff and assistive voting devices to accommodate women, youths, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and other vulnerable groups.
“Publishing collation sheets at ward and local government levels on IReV alongside polling unit results would enable citizens, political parties, and observers to verify results at every stage,” the statement read.
Call on Political Parties, Security Agencies, and Media
Turning to the candidates and political actors, the observation hub reminded all participants to abide strictly by the July 30, 2026 Peace Accord and to accept the election outcome as declared by INEC.
Political Parties: Urged to shun vote-buying, voter intimidation, and political thuggery, while advising that any post-election grievances be channeled strictly through lawful judicial processes.
Security Agencies: Advised to maintain strict neutrality, secure key transit routes and collation centers, and strengthen joint response mechanisms via the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). The hub further demanded public updates on pending investigations into electoral violence to curb impunity.
Media & Voters: Journalists were urged to verify reports and refrain from airing unofficial figures before formal INEC declarations, while voters were encouraged to reject monetary inducements, turn out early, and report malpractices to law enforcement.
The EU observer coalition noted that these recommendations remain vital to ensuring a peaceful, transparent, and credible outcome for the Osun governorship election.
