The Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has reported delays in the arrival of election officials and challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the ongoing 2026 Osun State Governorship Election.
In its preliminary statement, signed by Bukola Idowu, the Executive Director of KDI, issued at noon on Saturday, the organisation states that its findings were based on early reports received through its Election Day Data Room (EDDR) from accredited observers deployed across the state.
The organisation deployed 370 observers across all 30 Local Government Areas, 332 wards and 1,660 polling units to monitor the election. KDI said the deployment included stationary and roving observers, as well as senior faculty members responsible for oversight and verification.
INEC Officials Arrived Late in Some Areas
According to KDI, 56.1 per cent of polling units reporting to its data room recorded the arrival of INEC officials early or on time, while 43 per cent reported late arrival.
The organisation said delays were most concentrated in Ifedayo, Osogbo, Ola-Oluwa, Ayedaade, Iwo, Ayedire, Atakumosa West, Odo-Otin and Irepodun.
Despite the delays, KDI said election materials were generally in good condition, with 98.9 per cent of reports indicating that materials were intact.
It added that 79.3 per cent of polling observations recorded voting commencing before 8:45 a.m., while 19.8 per cent started between 8:45 a.m. and 9:59 a.m. Only 0.9 per cent commenced at 10 a.m. or later.
BVAS Records 15.3% Failure Rate
The observer group also identified BVAS performance as one of the key operational concerns in the early stages of voting.
KDI said preliminary data showed an 84.7 per cent BVAS success rate and a 15.3 per cent failure rate among accreditation attempts captured by its monitoring system.
The highest number of BVAS failure reports came from Ifedayo, Ife North, Osogbo, Ayedaade, Irepodun, Iwo and Egbedore.
KDI said although the technology was functioning successfully in most observed cases, voters did not have a uniform experience across polling locations.
The organisation said it would continue monitoring whether the reported failures were isolated technical problems or were causing wider delays and barriers to voter participation.
KDI Records Vote-Trading, Interference Reports
KDI also reported 17 cases of party-agent interference and seven reports involving alleged interference by security agents at polling activities.
It said 19 vote-trading reports had been received from 2,127 reports at the time of the assessment, representing about 0.9 per cent of reports received.
The reported incidents were concentrated in Odo-Otin, Irepodun, Ife North and Osogbo, with party supporters, party agents and community leaders identified among the actors allegedly associated with voter inducement.
Three Violence-Related Incidents Reported
On election-day security, KDI said its data room had recorded three violence-related reports as of noon.
The incidents were reported in Ife East, Ejigbo and Ilesa West.
According to the organisation, political thugs reportedly invaded a polling unit in Ejigbo, chased voters away and snatched election materials. In Ilesa West, political thugs were also reported to have disrupted voting and chased voters away.
KDI further reported that police officers allegedly invaded a Registration Area Centre in Ife East and used tear gas to disrupt the distribution of election materials, which were allegedly taken away.
The organisation, however, noted that the number of election-day violence reports recorded by noon was significantly lower than the violence recorded during the pre-election period.
KDI’s pre-election monitoring recorded 81 election-related violence incidents and 15 fatalities between October 2025 and August 2026. It cautioned, however, that the low number of incidents recorded by noon should not be taken as proof that security risks had disappeared.
KDI to Continue Monitoring Election
KDI said its observers would remain on the ground through the close of polls, counting, completion and handling of result forms, electronic results management and collation.
The organisation said it would issue a comprehensive end-of-day statement after completing the verification and analysis of its reports.
KDI stressed that its preliminary statement is not a final assessment of the election or its outcome, noting that the findings were based on information available to its data room as of 12 noon.
It called on all stakeholders to maintain peace, respect voters’ rights and allow election officials and other authorised actors to complete voting, counting and collation without intimidation, violence or undue interference.
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