By By Elizabeth Ugbo
Ado-Ekiti – Yiaga Africa has raised concerns over discrepancies in election materials deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election. The election observer group made the allegation on Saturday, stating that differences between ballot papers, polling unit result sheets, and INEC’s published candidate list could cause confusion during voting, vote reconciliation, and result collation.
Discrepancies Could Affect Voting Process
In a statement signed by Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, Chair of the 2026 Ekiti Election Observation Mission, and Samson Itodo, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, the organisation said its observers identified inconsistencies in the election materials.
According to Yiaga Africa, Form EC8A polling unit result sheets contain spaces for 15 political parties. However, the ballot papers currently in use display 19 political parties.
The group also noted that INEC’s updated list of candidates, published on its website on June 18, 2026, contains 14 political parties that fielded candidates.
Yiaga Africa warned that the conflicting figures could create uncertainty during vote recording and result collation.
INEC Urged to Clarify Candidate List
The election observer group urged INEC to immediately clarify the final list of political parties and candidates participating in the election.
It also asked the commission to explain the differences between the ballot papers, result sheets, and previous public announcements.
Furthermore, Yiaga Africa called on INEC to issue clear written guidelines to presiding officers and collation officials. The guidelines should explain how officials should complete result sheets in line with the Electoral Act and relevant court judgments.
The organisation also requested specific instructions on handling parties listed on result sheets but absent from ballot papers, and vice versa.
Court Rulings Contributed to Changes
Yiaga Africa acknowledged that the inconsistencies followed several legal and administrative developments.
According to the group, INEC initially published a list of 12 candidates in January 2026. However, subsequent court rulings, particularly those involving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and late administrative decisions altered the list of participating parties and candidates.
The organisation said some of those changes did not appear to have been reflected consistently across all election materials.
It also observed that voters may not have received adequate information about the adjustments before election day.
Observers Deployed Across Polling Units
Yiaga Africa disclosed that, as of 8:30 a.m., 96 percent of its observers had arrived at the polling units assigned for the election.
The organisation said it deployed observers to 250 randomly selected polling units across Ekiti State to monitor the governorship election.
It warned that where result sheets contain parties missing from the ballot papers, presiding officers may record zero votes for parties that voters never saw, potentially creating confusion during the collation process.
The group urged INEC to address the issues promptly to strengthen transparency and maintain public confidence in the electoral process.
