Vote-buying, violence threaten Ekiti poll legitimacy — NPC

2026-02-23 - 12:46

By Rotimi Ojomoyela Ado-Ekiti — The National Peace Committee (NPC) has raised concerns that vote-buying, violence, and insecurity could undermine the legitimacy of the Ekiti State governorship election scheduled for June 20, 2026. Speaking at a three-day Stakeholders’ Validation Forum held in Ado-Ekiti and organised by the NPC through its secretariat, the Kukah Centre, Senior Programme Manager of the centre, Esrom Ajanya, said the forum was convened to promote peaceful, issue-based electoral processes ahead of the poll. Ajanya explained that the validation forum, funded by the European Union, aims to strengthen local ownership of electoral risk assessments and generate practical recommendations for preventing election-related violence. According to him, the process includes monitoring the electoral environment and assessing security dynamics through an Election Security Information Hub designed to provide context analysis of the political situation in Ekiti and guide the NPC’s engagement with stakeholders across the electoral value chain. He called for proactive measures by security agencies to address interpersonal violence, which he described as a major threat capable of undermining democratic participation and weakening political accountability in the state. Ajanya noted that while procedural compliance with the electoral timetable is important, the substance of the process — including security conditions, grassroots participation, and quality of engagement during the campaign period — must also align to ensure credible elections. Also speaking, development consultant and public affairs analyst Jide Ojo cautioned against making real-time electronic transmission of results the primary determinant of electoral outcomes, stressing that manual collation should remain the foundation of the process. He recalled that the Senate had considered a clause in the Electoral Bill 2026 proposing that presiding officers transmit polling unit results electronically to the results portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in real time. Ojo acknowledged that the technology has improved transparency and has been used by INEC since 2020, even before stronger legal backing was provided in the Electoral Act. He said electronic transmission was introduced to add transparency, particularly at the collation stage, which he described as the weakest link in election result management. However, Ojo warned against the growing push to make real-time electronic transmission the primary basis for determining election outcomes, citing risks such as hacking and technical failures. He maintained that electronic transmission should serve as a transparency and verification tool for parties seeking legal redress, while manual collation — supported by polling-unit documentation and oversight — should remain the primary basis for final results.