Ekiti: INEC materials not consistent, could create confusion during voting, Yiaga Africa

Yiaga Africa has raised concerns over alleged inconsistencies in election materials deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the Ekiti State governorship election.

It warned that discrepancies between ballot papers, result sheets and the official list of candidates could affect the voting and collation process.

The election observation group said the inconsistencies could create uncertainty at polling units, particularly during the recording of results, as some political parties appearing on ballot papers were not reflected on the result sheets provided to election officials.

In a preliminary statement signed by the Chair of the 2026 Ekiti Election Observation Mission, Dr Aisha Abdullahi, and the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, the organisation said its observers identified differences between the materials being used for the election.

“Yiaga Africa is observing the Ekiti State governorship election, and our preliminary findings raise serious concerns about the consistency of the materials INEC has deployed,” the group stated.

Yiaga Africa specifically pointed to the Form EC8A polling unit result sheets, which it said made provision for only 15 political parties, while the ballot papers in circulation contained the names of 19 parties.

The organisation added that INEC’s final list of candidates, published on its website and updated as of June 18, 2026, showed that 14 political parties fielded candidates for the election.

According to the group, the discrepancies may have resulted from changes in party participation following court judgments and administrative adjustments after INEC released its initial list of candidates.

“After INEC published its initial list of 12 candidates in January 2026, subsequent court rulings, notably on the PDP’s candidacy, and late administrative changes altered party and candidate participation,” Yiaga Africa said.

“Some of those changes do not appear to have been fully and consistently reflected across all election materials. Also, the public may not have fully received information about these changes.”

The observer group warned that the situation could lead to complications during the voting and result collation stages.

“These inconsistencies might create confusion during voting and collation. Where result sheets include parties that are not on the ballot, presiding officers may record zero votes for parties that voters did not see,” it said.

“Conversely, where voters cast ballots for parties not reflected on the result sheet, such actions could create uncertainty in recording, reconciliation, and collation.”

Yiaga Africa said that as of 8:30am on election day, 96 per cent of its 250 randomly selected polling unit observers had arrived at their assigned locations to monitor the process.

The organisation urged INEC to immediately clarify the final list of participating political parties and candidates, while explaining the differences between the various election materials.

It also called on the commission to provide clear instructions to presiding and collation officers on how to handle discrepancies involving parties listed on result sheets but absent from ballot papers, and vice versa.

Yiaga Africa said such clarification was necessary to ensure transparency, consistency and confidence in the electoral process.