OSUN ELECTION: EU OBSERVERS OUTLINE KEY DEMANDS AHEAD OF POLL
Read Time:2 Minute, 40 Second
By:Tajudeen Aminat
The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub (EU-SDGN EOH) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen its preparations and ensure a transparent process ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
The observers made the recommendations in a pre-election statement presented during a press conference on Friday.
Speaking on behalf of the EU-SDGN EOH, Jake Epelle of TAF Africa and Brenda Anugwom, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, called on INEC to ensure that sensitive electoral materials are delivered to all polling units on time to allow accreditation and voting to commence as scheduled.
They also urged the commission to ensure the real-time electronic transmission of verified polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and maintain sufficient backup capacity for the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
The observers further asked INEC to publish a clear explanation of the results transmission process, including the role of the electronic EC8A form and the backend validation process before results are uploaded to IReV.
They also recommended that Ward and Local Government collation results, contained in EC8B and EC8C forms, be uploaded alongside polling unit results to enable voters, political parties and observers to track and verify results at every stage.
The EU observers called for the timely and transparent announcement of results from polling units through Registration Areas and Local Government Areas to the State Collation Centre.
They further urged INEC to deploy adequately trained personnel and appropriate assistive voting devices to support priority voting for women, youths, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
On political parties and candidates, the observers called for strict adherence to the July 30, 2026 Peace Accord and urged all contestants to accept the outcome as declared by INEC.
They advised parties and candidates to channel any grievances through legal and judicial processes rather than resorting to protests, violence or self-help.
The observers also called on political actors to desist from vote-buying, voter intimidation and the deployment of political thugs.
Security agencies were urged to remain neutral and professional, deploy sufficient personnel to high-risk locations and secure transportation routes, polling units and collation centres ahead of the election.
The EU observers also called for improved coordination among security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), with a focus on swift and impartial responses to electoral violence, harassment and disruptions.
They further recommended that authorities publicly provide updates on investigations into previous cases of electoral violence, including arrests, prosecutions and court dates, to strengthen deterrence and discourage impunity.
The observers urged the media to verify information before publication, avoid spreading misinformation and refrain from announcing unofficial results until they are formally declared by INEC at the appropriate collation level.
Voters were also encouraged to arrive early, vote freely and independently, reject financial inducements and report vote-buying and other electoral malpractice to INEC, security agencies or accredited observers.
The EU-SDGN EOH said the recommendations were aimed at supporting a peaceful, transparent, free and credible Osun governorship election and urged all stakeholders to uphold their responsibilities throughout the voting, collation and result declaration processes.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0