#OsunDecides2026: Osun Votes Peacefully, but BVAS Failures and Vote Buying Test Electoral Integrity – BallotEyes Working Group & Partner

The 2026 Osun State governorship election has moved from voting to collation of results, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) continuing the aggregation of results from the state’s 3,763 polling units. As of the early hours of Sunday, results from 331 of Osun’s 332 wards had been reported on INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while more than 93 per cent of polling-unit results had been captured, according to reports monitoring the collation process. INEC has commenced the announcement of local government collated results, with only INEC’s official declaration remains pending.

The development comes after a closely contested election in which incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party faced All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, with African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Najeem Salaam also maintaining a presence in the race.

The BallotEyes election observation initiative of the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI), working with FactCheckAfrica, Oroki Hub, Legis360 and DNN Media, deployed 75 trained polling-unit observers across all 30 local government areas, supported by 30 stationary LGA observers and three roving observers. The partners also operated a Hybrid Situation Room and the TruthGuard Election Integrity and Misinformation Situation Room to monitor voting, security, electoral procedures and the information environment surrounding the election.

Based on reports received from the field, BallotEyes said the election recorded several positive developments but was also affected by technological, logistical and procedural shortcomings that require attention as collation proceeds.

Early deployment, peaceful voting, and Massive Turnout recorded

BallotEyes observers reported that INEC officials and election materials arrived on time at most of the polling units observed, allowing voting to commence relatively early. 

Observers also recorded strong voter turnout in several parts of the state during the early hours of polling. Security personnel maintained a visible presence across many polling locations, with observers describing the conduct of officers at most locations as calm and restrained. No widespread pattern of harassment or excessive use of force by security personnel was reported to the coalition during the period covered by the preliminary observation. Voters similarly remained largely peaceful despite delays associated with accreditation and other operational difficulties. 

BallotEyes also highlighted instances of citizen resistance to vote buying. In Ejigbo, for example, a youth group reportedly intervened when money was allegedly being distributed to voters, disrupting the activity and seizing cash from those involved.

The coalition described the intervention as an example of community-level resistance to electoral inducement.

BVAS failures affected a significant proportion of observed polling units

One of the most significant concerns recorded by BallotEyes was the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). According to the coalition’s preliminary observation data, BVAS malfunctioned in 33 per cent of the 75 polling units from which reports had been received at the time of its initial assessment.

Observers reported that women and older voters appeared to experience accreditation difficulties disproportionately, particularly where fingerprint authentication failed. Such failures, the coalition said, created delays and raised concerns about the ability of vulnerable voters to complete the voting process without abandoning their queues.

BallotEyes said the experience underscores the need for INEC to review the performance of the accreditation technology and the adequacy of contingency procedures ahead of subsequent elections.

Questions raised over voter identification procedures

Observers also reported instances in which voters were allegedly accredited using their National Identification Number (NIN) rather than presenting a Permanent Voter Card (PVC). The coalition recorded such incidents in 27.3 per cent of the polling units in its sample.

The report has particular significance because the legal and administrative framework governing voter identification remains centred on the electoral register and INEC’s prescribed accreditation procedures. Previous legislative proposals to make PVCs non-compulsory had generated debate, but the proposal did not automatically change the rules applicable to the election.

BallotEyes therefore called for clarification of the procedures applied by polling officials and greater consistency in accreditation practices.

Missing EC.30A(I) notices raise transparency concerns

BallotEyes also reported that Form EC.30A(I), the polling-station information notice required to be displayed at polling units, was missing at a substantial number of locations observed. As of its 10am assessment on election day, the coalition said the notice had not been displayed at 45 per cent of sampled polling units.

Among the locations cited were polling units in Atakumosa East, Atakumosa West, Ife Central, Obokun and Olorunda local government areas. INEC’s election manual identifies EC.30A(I) as the polling-station information poster to be displayed before the commencement of polling.

BallotEyes said failure to display the notice weakens one of the basic transparency mechanisms available to voters, observers and party agents at polling units.

Voter-register discrepancies flagged

The observers further reported discrepancies between figures displayed at some polling units and figures contained in the official voter register. The coalition said such inconsistencies could complicate the verification of turnout and create disputes during the collation of results.

With collation now underway, BallotEyes said attention should be paid to ensuring that results are reconciled against the official polling-unit records and that any disputed figures are properly documented and resolved through the established electoral procedures.

Vote-buying remains a major concern

BallotEyes reported what it described as organised vote-buying activity in several locations. In Ayedire Local Government Area, Ward 8, Polling Unit 001, observers reported repeated instances in which voters were allegedly accompanied to the voting cubicle by the same individual after apparently being approached outside the polling unit.

The pattern, according to the observers, raised concerns about a possible organised inducement and vote-monitoring arrangement. In Ejigbo, observers reported alleged involvement of agents linked to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Action Democratic Party (ADP) in a vote-buying incident that was disrupted by residents. At Awolowo Polling Unit in Aremo Ward, Ife Central, BallotEyes observers reported alleged inducement involving APC and Accord agents.

The coalition stressed that these observations should be treated as field reports requiring appropriate investigation and should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of authorisation or involvement by the political parties themselves.

Voting interruption reported in Oriade

BallotEyes also reported that voting was temporarily halted at Ward 03, Polling Unit 013 in Oriade LGA at about 11:30am following an alleged shortage of voting ink pads. The coalition described the incident as a logistical failure that could disadvantage voters unable to remain at the polling unit for prolonged periods. It called on INEC to ensure that polling units affected by material shortages receive appropriate remedies and that voters are not disadvantaged by operational failures.

Election moves into a closely watched collation phase

The election has now entered a more consequential phase as results are collated across the state. Early result uploads indicate a competitive contest between Adeleke and Oyebamiji, with the incumbent maintaining a lead in the available results. Reports from the collation process, however, should not be treated as the final outcome until INEC completes its statutory process and makes an official declaration.

The political alignments surrounding the election also reflect a broader realignment in Osun politics. Adeleke entered the election on the Accord platform after leaving the PDP and had described his campaign as a broad, “rainbow coalition” extending beyond party lines. His administration had openly encouraged politicians and non-political stakeholders from different backgrounds to join the movement.

Oyebamiji, meanwhile, benefited from efforts to consolidate the APC’s structure, including the return of political figures associated with former Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s camp to the APC ahead of the election.

TruthGuard fact-checks election misinformation

Alongside field observation, the TruthGuard Election Integrity and Misinformation Situation Room monitored claims circulating online during voting. Among the claims assessed were allegations concerning political endorsements, voter mobilisation, unofficial results and incidents involving security personnel.

1. Accord endorsement claim rated misleading: 

A claim that the Accord Party had withdrawn support from Governor Adeleke and endorsed APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji was rated MISLEADING.

TruthGuard found that the declaration originated from a faction led by Prof. Christopher Imumolen and did not establish that the entire Accord Party had changed its position.

2. Akin Ogunbiyi endorsement claim rated false

A viral claim that APC chieftain Dr Akin Ogunbiyi had endorsed Adeleke was rated FALSE.

TruthGuard’s assessment found that the photograph used to support the claim originated from the 2022 Osun governorship election and was being presented out of context.

3. Abiola Ibrahim arrest claim partly verified

A claim that Accord lawmaker Hon. Abiola Ibrahim had imported 146 voters into Ikire and confessed following his arrest was rated PARTLY VERIFIED.

TruthGuard said the Osun State Police Command confirmed an arrest connected to allegations involving voter mobilisation, but could not independently verify the specific figure of 146 people or the alleged confession.

4. Adeleke “leading in 13 LGAs” claim rated false

A viral claim that Adeleke was already leading in 13 local government areas as of 10:00 AM was rated FALSE at the time it circulated because voting and collation were still underway and no official result supported the claim.

With collation now progressing, TruthGuard urged the public to distinguish between results uploaded on IReV, unofficial aggregations and INEC’s final declaration.

5. Modakeke security video partly true

A viral video said to show security personnel tear-gassing voters in Modakeke and a ballot box being stolen was rated PARTLY TRUE.

TruthGuard said digital analysis established that the footage was authentic and related to the election, while the police confirmed the use of tear gas during a disturbance. However, the specific allegation that a ballot box was stolen could not be independently established from the available evidence.

What happens next

With voting concluded, the coalition’s focus has shifted from polling-unit operations to the integrity of the collation and result-announcement process. BallotEyes is calling on INEC to:

• ensure that all polling-unit results are properly accounted for and uploaded;
• investigate discrepancies reported by observers between displayed voter-register figures and official records;
• document and resolve legitimate complaints arising from BVAS failures and other accreditation problems;
• ensure that results presented at collation centres correspond with the results recorded and signed at polling units;
• maintain transparency throughout ward, LGA and state-level collation; and
• provide timely public explanations where technical or logistical problems affect the result-management process.

The coalition also urged security agencies to maintain their professional conduct through the conclusion of collation and to investigate credible allegations of vote buying, voter intimidation and other electoral offences. Political parties and candidates, meanwhile, have been urged to rely on established electoral and judicial mechanisms for challenging disputed results rather than encouraging violence or disseminating unverified claims.

Final declaration remains the benchmark

The 2026 Osun governorship election has produced a large volume of polling-unit data, competing political claims and online narratives. While provisional tallies currently indicate a lead for Adeleke, the final winner is the candidate declared by INEC after completion of the statutory collation process.

For BallotEyes, TruthGuard, and its partners, the priority at this stage is therefore not to amplify premature victory claims but to verify the evidence behind the results, document irregularities and ensure that citizens have access to accurate information as the final stages of the election unfold.

TruthGuard will continue monitoring election-related misinformation, manipulated media, suspected AI-generated content and false result claims through the conclusion of collation. Citizens can submit suspicious election-related claims, photographs, videos and other material for verification through the TruthGuard WhatsApp channel at +234 812 857 5778.

BallotEyes is an initiative of the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI).

TruthGuard is an initiative of FactCheckAfrica.

Partner organisations: Oroki Hub, Legis360 and DNN Media.

Tracking electoral integrity. Verifying the information environment.