# EKITI ELECTION ANALYSIS: Why Observers Gave It 5/10 | Election Matters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mctrwk8taT0

[00:06] Welcome to Election Matters on Clear Path Media.
[00:08] This is where we track the numbers, decisions, movements, and signals shaping Nigeria's elections in real-time.
[00:16] This is not advocacy.
[00:19] This is intelligence.
[00:19] My name is Ijeoma Achebe.
[00:29] The Ekiti State governorship election has now been concluded.
[00:31] Today, we are about 54 days until the Osun State governorship election and 341 days until the 2027 presidential handover.
[00:46] Voting took place on Saturday, the 20th of June, 2026.
[00:48] In the early hours of Sunday, the 21st of June, at approximately 13 minutes past 3:00 in the morning, the returning officer declared APC's Biodun Oyebanji the winner with 319,224
[01:08] votes, confirming his re-election for a second term.
[01:10] PDP came second with 40,543 votes and ADC came third with 12,827 votes.
[01:23] I mean, 22 votes, sorry.
[01:25] Oyebanji won across all 16 of Ekiti's local government areas.
[01:31] Let's take a quick break and when we return, we will be joined by Bukola Idowu, country director of Kimpact Development Initiative for our post-election analysis.
[01:41] Please stay with us.
[01:49] Welcome back to Election Matters.
[01:52] Today, we have Bukola Idowu, the country director of Kimpact Development Initiative.
[01:58] Joining us.
[02:00] Thank you very much for joining us today.
[02:01] So, uh please give us your overall assessment of the just concluded Ekiti governorship election.
[02:06] What stood out to
[02:09] your observers of the election day in Ekiti?
[02:12] Uh basically, I think um in terms of let me compartmentalize it in terms of um uh arrival of polling officials at the polling unit commencement and then security agencies uh conduct and and the election day processes.
[02:30] So, number one, I I think Ekiti election was one of the election that is also uh planned very well.
[02:36] And don't forget this is the first election that the INEC chairman will be in charge of the uh uh fully uh from execution to I mean, from planning to execution.
[02:46] And then we we've seen that um in terms of um deployment, uh we saw that um there was early deployment and early commencement of votes, uh which is commendable in in that election.
[03:00] The other aspect is the aspect of the BVAS, uh which basically was um uh in some polling units and compared to
[03:10] Edo, Ondo, and Anambra election, uh I would say performed below uh expectation.
[03:18] uh when you compare it with those elections because in those elections, BVAS worked 98% uh but when you look at um uh the Ekiti election, BVAS worked like about 82%.
[03:29] So, which means in some instances, BVAS did not work in some polling units.
[03:34] Uh but again, that still mean that um if BVAS worked 82%, though it's still a pass mark, but um I think we should be aiming for 100% performance of of BVAS.
[03:46] And then when you also look at conduct of the security agencies, um you you can actually say they were also professional and they were in terms of their deployment and though there were also cases where they look away when votes were being bought.
[04:03] That is also a source of concern.
[04:08] So but in terms of their deployment and their professionalism on the field they did excellently well too.
[04:12] And then you also come into the aspect of results management which again is something I think we need to begin to improve on.
[04:22] We have seen some of the innovations that was introduced in this results management process in the Ekiti election which in my own view I feel may not be the best as it or may not be in line with the electoral guidelines and then the electoral legal framework.
[04:46] So I I think overall is an election that you can say well to some certain extent it was a good election.
[04:58] That is also so I delivered declared the Ekiti in the early hours of 21 June making the fastest declaration your organization has observed across recent elections including the
[05:13] 2024 on door and by 2025.
[05:15] So does this speed reflect genuine improvements in election administration or are there aspects of the collation process that deserve closer scrutiny?
[05:28] Well I I think that was not even the that was not even the speed at all.
[05:30] You know technically that result was delayed.
[05:33] You know and that is is not it was that result was delayed because going by what we have on the field election ended earlier than that time.
[05:47] So what it means is that there was a delay at the collation process and which we we we we don't really know.
[05:54] If you recall, election in some places election have been concluded since around 1:00, 2:00 and counting has begun.
[06:04] But, um I mean, why I mean, to our surprise, you don't find the first result on iReF until after 4:00.
[06:12] So, uh
[06:14] so, what actually happened between the hour of 2 and that 4 before you find the first result on iReF.
[06:18] But, what happened was that people concluded uh result, I mean, election at the polling unit, counting took sorting took place, counting took place, and then recording took place, and it was what we now have is that it was not transmitted directly from the polling unit.
[06:34] So, probably they did that at the ward center or rack collation or I mean, ward collation center.
[06:42] And that was why we now have that bulk upload that jumped from 21% to 87%.
[06:49] A case of um missing ballot.
[06:52] Basically, that is what it means.
[06:54] Because you have more accreditation than the actual voting.
[06:57] And that's that is something that needs to worry us.
[07:00] See, in 2015, like I used to I mean, say, in 2015 and then in 2014, before 2015, 2011, you know, is is this type of thing is permissible because then you first of
[07:16] all do your accreditation, you go home, and come back at 2:00 to um to to come and cast your vote.
[07:23] So, what it means those days is that some people can do accreditation and will not come back at 2:00.
[07:30] But, that particular uh protocol has been abolished.
[07:32] So, what we have now is that we have simultaneous accreditation and voting.
[07:39] So, which means you accredit immediately, and at that time I mean you accredit immediately they give you your ballot paper to go and vote.
[07:48] So, why is it that you now begin to accredit people and it's not we are not having the same number with total vote cast.
[07:58] So, between is it that you accredit people you refuse or you forgot to give them ballot paper?
[08:03] It's something that need to be investigated.
[08:05] And I know one of the things that we are trying to do our people are trying to do or I can't find I was trying to do was to run away from what they call over voting.
[08:14] You know, over voting is when
[08:16] the total number of vote cast is more than that accreditation.
[08:18] But now we are having it lesser.
[08:20] Which is much more dangerous.
[08:23] So, could it be that people vote were removed?
[08:25] We need to answer that question.
[08:28] And it's difficult to say to talk about that accreditation figure because INEC has not released the back end accreditation figure.
[08:34] They just released what they have now.
[08:37] And what it means is that that is what was even on for Misty 8A, which is questionable.
[08:44] So, I think that it is not acceptable to have lesser voting I mean number than accredited number.
[08:56] So, what happened to the to the ballot?
[08:57] So, that is a case of missing ballots.
[08:59] So, which means you you accredit we can't find your ballot.
[09:02] So, what happened to that?
[09:04] We need to demand accountability on that and then ask INEC exactly INEC need to explain what exactly happened.
[09:08] To get answers from INEC.
[09:10] Thank you very much.
[09:12] So, I I would like to know how
[09:17] would you assess the youth participation in the election?
[09:21] And what does the turnout tell us about civic engagement in the Youth participation in the Ekiti election was very low.
[09:29] And most of the people you find in on election day that voted are I mean the adults, the aged people.
[09:37] You know, and and that is that is discouraging.
[09:39] It also shows that two things are happening.
[09:41] Number one, you know that that turnout is low, you know, if you ask me, uh some people some people say, "Oh, it was better than that of last year."
[09:51] For me, I will put them that it is flat because it's almost the same thing as last year.
[09:55] If INEC is declaring 38% voter turnout, and in the last election, it was 36.
[10:02] But, don't forget when it was 36% uh voter turnout in last election, the total registered voter was around 900,000.
[10:11] Now, this time around, you have over a million registered voter.
[10:14] That is In fact, to be specific, 1 million and 59,360.
[10:18] So, what is the difference?
[10:21] So, it means that it it it is flat.
[10:23] So, it shows that people did not even come out to vote in that election, and most people because when you look at the the division or the classification of the registered voter, the young people when you match them together to the middle age from 18 to 35, then from that 36 to 48, they constitute the larger chunk of the registered voter in in Ekiti State.
[10:47] And because they did not turn out what that their turnout was not encouraging, that is why we have what we have.
[10:53] I think we have to do a lot to get more young people to come out and vote.
[11:01] Well, there's so much room for people like you to champion options.
[11:05] So, finally, very quickly, I know you mentioned before the issue with the with the accreditation and vote cast.
[11:14] So, just quickly tell us what are the factors do you think they have
[11:19] contributed to this discrepancy?
[11:21] Just very clearly explain to us the factors that contributed to the discrepancy.
[11:26] So, number one is because it could be because some of the ad hoc staff decided not to follow the protocol, the laid down process.
[11:33] So, it's possible that the ad-hoc staff were just accrediting first and then in the they were just accrediting and then maybe they wanted to finish accreditation and then ask the people to come and collect their ballot paper and then go and vote.
[11:51] It's possible that after doing that some people did not show up again or they just left.
[11:54] That is number one.
[11:54] Number two, it could also means voter suppression.
[11:59] So, it is it could mean that the votes that was meant for the opposition were deliberately taken off, you know, and you could not alter the accreditation figure.
[12:09] So, that could also that is also a possibility.
[12:12] The other possibility is that I mean it is that people in a bid to run
[12:19] Away from over voting, you understand.
[12:22] The the figure written on form EC8A may not be accurate.
[12:27] Probably they are trying to balance things up and in the process it is better they just agree that it is better to have under voting than to have over voting.
[12:36] Bukola, just from a scale of 1 to 10, rate this if you think governorship election.
[12:43] Well, I will rate it I will rate it five.
[12:48] Five, okay.
[12:48] Okay.
[12:48] The country director of Kimpact Development Initiative has just given the just concluded Ekiti governorship election a rating of five out of 10.
[13:00] That was Bukola in the country director of Kimpact Development Initiative joining us virtually from Ekiti State.
[13:09] So, this is what we have all we have for you today on election matters with Lekan Media.
[13:14] My name is Ijeoma Chidebe.
[13:14] Thank you for joining us and I will see you
[13:19] tomorrow.