Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, a civil society organisation, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen its electoral systems ahead of the 2027 general elections, following observations from the 2026 electoral cycle.
The organisation made the call on Monday in an advocacy memo based on its citizen observation of the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections.
For the Osun election, EiE said it deployed trained observers across 12 local government areas, supported by four accredited staff participating through the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room.
The exercise produced 532 polling-unit-level reports covering election readiness, voter accreditation, voting, technology, security, ballot secrecy, accessibility and counting.
Although most of the polling units monitored were described as peaceful and orderly, EiE said observers identified recurring challenges that require attention before 2027.
These included late arrival of election officials, voting materials and security personnel, BVAS failures, accessibility problems, threats to ballot secrecy, voter intimidation and alleged vote buying.
EiE stressed that its findings were not statistically representative of every polling unit in Osun and did not establish that any reported irregularity affected the outcome of the election.
BVAS, Security and Accessibility Concerns
The organisation said polling units in parts of Osogbo, Ife Central and Olorunda experienced delays, with election officials, materials or security personnel arriving after voting was scheduled to begin.
BVAS-related problems were also reported in seven of the 12 LGAs observed. These included devices failing to start, interruptions during accreditation, slow processing and difficulties capturing facial data, particularly for elderly voters.
In Olorunda and Ejigbo, observers also reported accessibility challenges, including polling locations that were physically difficult to access and instances where EC40H forms were unavailable to voters requiring assistance.
EiE further documented incidents involving alleged threats to ballot secrecy and voter intimidation. In Atakumosa West, voters were reportedly assaulted despite the presence of police and NSCDC personnel, while observers recorded a case in Olorunda where security personnel responded promptly to a similar threat.
The organisation also recorded alleged vote buying in five of the 12 LGAs observed, but cautioned that such reports should not be regarded as established criminal findings without proper investigation.
EiE Calls for Electoral Reforms
Akindeji Aromaye, senior media and project officer, elections, EiE Nigeria, said the incidents should serve as indicators of areas where INEC’s systems need improvement.
He urged the commission to determine why problems such as BVAS failures, delayed polling and voter intimidation occurred and what measures could prevent their recurrence in 2027.
EiE called on INEC to review election-day readiness and response by comparing reports of delayed deployment and polling-unit opening with information from its Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC).
The organisation also recommended a structured review of BVAS and other technological failures to improve future testing, training and deployment.
It urged INEC to examine complaints received through its existing channels, identify recurring problems and implement corrective measures.
EiE further called for improvements to the commission’s accessibility framework, stronger voter protection and security coordination, and a more effective feedback mechanism involving accredited election observers.
‘Lessons Must Translate Into Improvements’
Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh, executive director of EiE Nigeria, said the lessons from the 2026 off-cycle elections should result in improvements that voters can experience during the 2027 elections.
She noted that INEC already has systems covering election readiness, technology, citizen complaints, accessibility, observer engagement and election security.
According to her, the priority should now be identifying where those systems failed and determining what needs to change before Nigerians return to the polls in 2027.
Source: Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria advocacy memo and statements from its officials.
