INEC promises credible poll, opposition says election will be a litmus test to gauge 2027 polls
As Ekiti State voters head to the polls today to elect a new governor, attention has increasingly focused on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, whose repeated assurances of transparent and credible elections are coming under renewed scrutiny ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Since assuming office on 23 October 2025, Amupitan has pledged to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process through strict compliance with electoral laws and regulations, improved election logistics, professionalism among electoral officials and the deployment of technology to safeguard the integrity of voting and results management.
The INEC chairman has repeatedly stated that the Commission remains committed to neutrality and to conducting elections that reflect the genuine will of voters.
Ahead of previous elections, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, Amupitan assured Nigerians that INEC had made adequate preparations and would deliver peaceful, transparent, and credible elections.
However, reactions to the conduct of the FCT elections sparked fresh conversations among political stakeholders and civil society groups about operational challenges and concerns about whether the Commission had done enough to inspire public confidence ahead of larger national contests.
With the Ekiti governorship election coming barely seven months before the 2027 general elections, observers say the exercise has assumed wider national significance and could provide another opportunity to assess INEC’s readiness, consistency and capacity to deliver a process that earns public trust.
INEC figures show strong voter readiness ahead of the election, with 1,028,929 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected out of 1,059,360 registered voters, representing a 97.1 per cent collection rate.
Programme manager at Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, said the election carries added significance as it will be the first governorship election conducted under the Electoral Act 2026 and the new INEC guidelines.
According to her, the exercise presents an opportunity to assess how effectively the new legal and regulatory framework would be implemented, particularly in relation to results management and election administration.
“The Ekiti governorship election provides an opportunity to assess the operationalisation of the Electoral Act 2026, particularly as it relates to the results management process; and with the election coming months before the 2027 general elections, it will also serve as a litmus test for INEC’s capacity,” Mbamalu said.
She noted that, with the election barely seven months away from the 2027 general elections, the outcome and conduct of the process would indicate INEC’s operational capacity and readiness for larger national polls.
Mbamalu, in an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, observed that although the current INEC leadership had already overseen the 2025 Anambra governorship election, every election presents a fresh opportunity to evaluate the Commission’s competence and ability to respond to varying political and operational environments.
She added that the Ekiti election comes with a different context, especially with the introduction of a new Electoral Act and revised election guidelines governing voter accreditation and results management.
According to her, the election will provide another opportunity to assess the Commission’s ability to ensure clarity in operational guidelines, consistency in the application of procedures across polling units and collation centres, and effective supervision of electoral officials.
Assessing preparations so far, Mbamalu said Yiaga Africa had acknowledged INEC’s efforts in election planning despite delays in the release of funding.
She cited activities such as training election officials, mock accreditation exercises, logistics coordination, and stakeholder engagement as indicators of progress.
She also noted that election materials had already been deployed from the Central Bank of Nigeria facility in Ado-Ekiti and that further movement of materials from local government areas to Registration Area Centres (RACs) was expected ahead of voting.
On what would determine the election’s credibility, she identified three major benchmarks: preparedness, transparency, and neutrality.
She explained that preparedness would be measured by the timely deployment of personnel and materials, the functionality of electoral technology and the readiness of officials to implement election procedures.
Transparency, she said, would depend on faithful implementation of the Electoral Act 2026 and the new regulations, including the consistent use of BVAS for voter accreditation, proper validation of polling unit results through e-EC8A, prompt electronic transmission of results to IReV and transparent collation procedures.
Mbamalu added that neutrality would be assessed largely through the conduct of security agencies, particularly their ability to secure voters, election officials, observers and journalists without partisan interference, intimidation or excessive use of force.
She, however, urged INEC to strengthen contingency plans for logistics management to avoid disruptions that could delay voting and called on the Commission to sustain transparency and professionalism in the deployment of materials, activation of Registration Area Centres, voter accreditation and results management.
Also speaking ahead of the election, national publicity secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, called for limited security involvement in the electoral process, arguing that security agencies should prioritise broader national security challenges.
According to him, Nigeria’s security forces have more pressing threats to address, including killings, kidnappings and other issues affecting national stability, rather than extensive election deployments.
“Ordinarily, we should not need military or police parading the streets during elections if our system were right. We urge them to focus on real security threats and weed out unnecessary involvement in the electoral process,” Aiyenigba said.
He maintained that the election’s credibility would ultimately depend on whether the outcome reflected voters’ wishes.
According to him, if Ekiti people freely elect another candidate through a transparent process, the result should not be contested; concerns would arise only if the process is compromised and the will of the electorate is undermined.
Speaking on voter participation, Aiyenigba attributed voter apathy to dissatisfaction with governance outcomes and the widespread perception that votes do not always count.
He also linked poor turnout to prevailing socio-economic conditions but urged citizens not to abandon democratic participation.
“People must come out and fight for their civic right to determine who their leaders will be,” he added.
On its part, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said the Ekiti governorship election would provide another opportunity to assess public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
National publicity secretary of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC expected a free, fair and transparent contest and urged the electoral commission to conduct an exercise that would inspire confidence among voters and political actors.
“Ekiti will be a litmus test for INEC’s new leadership, demonstrating to Nigerians that they can be trusted to conduct a credible election in 2027,” Abdullahi said.
Offering a broader perspective, political analyst and lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Dr Christian Okeke, said the significance attached to the Ekiti governorship election stems less from the state’s political weight and more from its timing ahead of the next general election.
“It is an election that is a litmus test for INEC in terms of its preparedness for the 2027 general election,” he said.
Okeke added that the exercise would once again place the Commission’s neutrality under public scrutiny, particularly its ability to address long-standing logistics challenges and guarantee the professionalism and non-partisanship of election personnel.
He described the election as both an opportunity and a risk, warning that while a credible process could rebuild confidence ahead of 2027, a flawed exercise could deepen voter apathy and raise fresh questions over electoral legitimacy.
Responding to concerns over preparedness and public expectations, INEC deputy director, Voter Education and Publicity, Wilfred Ifogah, who spoke with our correspondent, said the Commission had taken additional measures to close operational gaps that could undermine the election’s credibility.
Ifogah said INEC had strengthened logistics planning and intensified training and retraining of electoral officials and ad hoc personnel to ensure smooth deployment of election materials and electoral technology across the state.
According to him, the Commission had also put mechanisms in place to reduce disruptions and prevent operational lapses that could encourage malpractice.
He, however, acknowledged that terrain-related challenges could affect movement in some locations, especially communities with difficult road access or areas located far from distribution centres.
“If you have difficult terrain or communities that are far from the road network, there may be delays in some locations, but we have planned to minimise such challenges,” he said.
Ifogah added that backup arrangements had been made to address shortages of election materials before officials leave the distribution centres, to ensure voting commences.
Providing the ruling party’s perspective, national secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, expressed confidence that the party would retain Ekiti State in Saturday’s governorship election.
Speaking on TVC’s Beyond The Headlines on Thursday, Basiru said the APC was approaching the election with confidence, citing what he described as strong grassroots mobilisation and campaign structures across the state.
According to him, the party remained optimistic about its chances based on the record of governance under Governor Biodun Oyebanji and the support it believes it enjoys among voters.
Basiru argued that the election would ultimately serve as an assessment of the government’s performance and expressed confidence that residents would reward the administration at the polls.
He also called on APC supporters to conduct themselves peacefully and participate responsibly in the electoral process as campaigns formally gave way to voting.
“We are optimistic, and we believe Ekiti people will make their decision based on governance and performance,” he said.
With voting set to begin, expectations are high that the Ekiti governorship election will not only determine the state’s next governor but also offer an early indication of public confidence in Nigeria’s evolving electoral process under the current INEC leadership.
