Observers Praise Peaceful Osun Election Amid BVAS Issues

The 2026 Osun State Governorship Election was largely deemed peaceful by election observers, who issued a joint statement on Thursday. The observers, led by the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and including partners such as BISIGI Africa and IICSD, deployed 450 trained observers across all 30 Local Government Areas and over 900 polling units.

They reported that more than 75% of polling units opened between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., but the overall voter turnout was low, with only 1,005,800 votes cast out of 2,339,233 registered voters, representing 43%. The coalition noted that 40% of observers reported BVAS-related issues, including slow processing and difficulties with authentication, particularly affecting elderly voters.

Specific local government areas experiencing these issues included Irewole, Ifelodun, and Osogbo. The coalition urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enhance electoral technology and logistics ahead of the 2027 General Elections.