The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the upload of polling unit results from the Ekiti governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), more than two hours after the close of voting.
The electoral commission began uploading results at about 4:10 p.m. on Saturday after concerns were raised over the absence of polling unit results on the portal despite the completion of voting and counting in some locations.
Before the uploads commenced, photographs of polling unit result sheets had already begun circulating online among election observers, political parties, and voters.
The delay in publishing results on IReV came after concerns were raised earlier by Yiaga Africa over inconsistencies in election materials deployed for the exercise.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Aisha Abdullahi, chair of Yiaga Africa’s 2026 Ekiti election observation mission, and Samson Itodo, executive director of the organisation, said discrepancies existed between ballot papers, result sheets, and the final list of candidates published by INEC.
“Specifically, the Form EC8A polling-unit result sheets provide spaces for 15 political parties; the ballot papers in circulation carry 19 parties; while INEC’s final list of candidates, as updated and available on the INEC website as of June 18, 2026, reflects 14 parties that fielded candidates,” the statement reads.
“Yiaga Africa recognizes the context. After INEC published its initial list of 12 candidates in January 2026, subsequent court rulings (notably on the PDP’s candidacy) and late administrative changes altered party and candidate participation.
“Some of those changes do not appear to have been fully and consistently reflected across all election materials. Also, the public may not have fully received information about these changes. These inconsistencies might create confusion during voting and collation.
“Where result sheets include parties that are not on the ballot, presiding officers may record zero votes for parties that voters did not see.
“Conversely, where voters cast ballots for parties not reflected on the result sheet, such actions could create uncertainty in recording, reconciliation, and collation.”
Yiaga Africa called on INEC to publicly clarify the final list of participating parties and candidates and explain the differences observed across election materials.
The organisation also urged the commission to issue clear written instructions to presiding and collation officers on completing result sheets in line with electoral laws and court decisions.
Earlier in the day, voting was slowed in several polling units due to challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), particularly during the accreditation of elderly voters.
At Polling Unit 007 in Ado ‘J’ Okesa, a 90-year-old woman was unable to complete biometric verification after the device repeatedly failed to capture her fingerprints and facial image.
Similar incidents were reported in other polling units across the state.
At Ugele/Arokun Ward 006 in Ikere LGA, only three voters had been accredited as of 8:30 a.m. due to BVAS-related difficulties.
Mercy Omeiza, presiding officer at Polling Unit 13, Ward 20, Iyin 1, Iyin-Ekiti, said election officials repeatedly encountered challenges while accrediting elderly voters.
“The BVAS is not capturing most of the old people. We asked them to wait and sit while we keep trying and trying,” she said.
“I heard other polling units around are also facing the same challenge.”
