BY AHMED AKANBI
Election observer group, Yiaga Africa, has commended the people of Osun State for their resilience and commitment during the August 15 governorship election, saying voters turned out to elect candidates of their choice.
The Chairman of the 2026 Osun Election Observation Mission, Dr Asmau Maikudi, and Executive Director, Samson Itodo, stated this on Sunday while presenting the Process and Results Verification Statement at Adolak Event Centre, Osogbo.
According to Yiaga Africa, the election was not an ordinary off-cycle poll, but the last major governorship election before 2027 and an early test of the Electoral Act 2026 and the new framework for election administration and results management.
The group said evidence showed that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies largely passed the test, noting that BVAS was deployed to all polling units and functioned properly in 80 per cent of them while in the remaining 20 per cent, it malfunctioned but was fixed.
“However, there were incidents where BVAS failed to verify details, biometric and facial recognition, of elderly voters,” Yiaga said.
It added that widespread breakdowns feared after the mock accreditation did not occur at a scale that could undermine the election.
The group recommended that INEC issue uniform guidance on acceptance of downloadable PVCs, conduct a comprehensive technical audit of BVAS devices, and publish causes of biometric failures with remedial measures for 2027.
It also called for better training of ad hoc staff and consistent application of election day procedures.
The group urged Osun people to sustain civic engagement beyond the election by holding political parties and candidates accountable for their campaign promises.
Yiaga Africa deployed 300 observers and 32 mobile observers across all 30 local government areas using its Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) methodology.
It said the statement was based on reports from 289 of 300 sampled polling units.