By Matthew Denis
The Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to address identified irregularities in election result management, strengthen electoral security and improve transparency in campaign financing ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Executive Director of KDI, Bukola Idowu, made the call during an interview with journalists at the public presentation of the organisation’s findings from its observation of the 2026 Osun and Ekiti governorship elections.
Idowu said the report was the outcome of a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process, covering activities from the pre-election period in January 2026 through the conclusion of the elections in August.
He explained that the assessment focused on three major areas: election security, campaign finance and election result management.
On election security, Idowu said Ekiti recorded fewer incidents of electoral violence, with 15 cases documented during the election period. He also noted that the state experienced no post-election violence.
However, he said the situation in Osun was more concerning, as the organisation documented cases of violence, including deaths before election day.
Although no deaths were recorded on election day in Osun, Idowu said incidents of electoral violence and post-election violence were observed.
On campaign financing, the KDI executive director called for greater transparency and accountability in political party spending, stressing the need for security agencies, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to strengthen oversight of election-related expenditure.
He said transparent campaign financing was necessary to promote a level playing field for all political parties and candidates.
Regarding election result management, Idowu acknowledged that the outcomes of the two elections generally reflected the wishes of voters but identified inconsistencies that needed to be addressed before the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the findings revealed discrepancies involving the number of registered voters, voter accreditation figures at some polling units, missing result entries and arithmetic errors in the collation and tabulation of results.
He expressed concern over discrepancies between results announced at polling units, those uploaded to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the final results declared by the commission.
Idowu said although INEC had explained that some results undergo reconciliation at the ward level, the commission needed to improve transparency by uploading reconciled ward-level results to the IReV portal.
He explained that making such results accessible would enable citizens and other stakeholders to independently verify the figures and better understand the reconciliation process.
The KDI director said greater transparency in result management would strengthen public confidence in the electoral process and reduce suspicions surrounding declared election outcomes.
He also urged security agencies to move beyond announcing arrests of electoral offenders to ensuring their effective investigation and prosecution.
Idowu stressed that the credibility of elections depended not only on the arrest of offenders but also on the willingness of relevant authorities to ensure that those responsible for electoral offences were brought to justice.
He called on INEC, security agencies, political parties, anti-corruption institutions and civil society organisations to study and implement the recommendations contained in the report.
He said addressing the identified shortcomings before 2027 would help consolidate the gains recorded in previous elections, strengthen democratic institutions and improve the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.
