Yiaga Africa flags inconsistencies in ballot papers, result sheets for Ekiti governorship election

Election observation group, Yiaga Africa, has raised concerns over discrepancies between ballot papers, result sheets and the final list of candidates deployed for Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election, warning that the inconsistencies could create confusion during voting and result collation.

In a preliminary statement issued on Saturday and signed by Aisha Abdullahi, chair of Yiaga Africa’s 2026 Ekiti Election Observation Mission, and Samson Itodo, the organisation’s executive director, the election observation group said findings from its observers revealed differences in the number of political parties reflected on key election materials used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to the organisation, the Form EC8A polling unit result sheets contain spaces for 15 political parties, while ballot papers in circulation carry the names of 19 parties.

However, INEC’s final list of candidates, updated on 18 June and published on its website, shows that only 14 political parties fielded candidates for the election.

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The organisation said the discrepancies appear to stem from court rulings and administrative changes that altered party and candidate participation after INEC initially published a list of 12 candidates in January.

It noted, however, that some of the changes were not consistently reflected across all election materials.

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“As of 8:30 a.m., 96 per cent of the observers from our 250 randomly sampled polling units were at their assigned locations to observe the election.

“Yiaga Africa preliminary findings identified inconsistencies between the ballot papers, the result sheets, and the list of candidates published by INEC,” the group said.

Yiaga Africa warned that the inconsistencies could create uncertainty during voting and result collation.

It explained that where result sheets contain parties that do not appear on the ballot paper, presiding officers may be required to record zero votes for parties that voters did not see.

Conversely, where voters cast ballots for parties not reflected on the result sheet, difficulties could arise in recording, reconciliation and collation of results.

“Yiaga Africa, therefore, calls on INEC to: 1. Publicly clarify, without delay, the final list of parties and candidates, and explain any differences between the ballot papers, result sheets, and earlier announcements,” the statement added.

It also urged the commission to issue clear written instructions to presiding officers and collation officials on how to complete result sheets in line with relevant court judgments and electoral regulations.