#EkitiDecides2026: Party agents use numbered slips instead of cash for vote buying in Ekiti election

There are indications that some voters in the ongoing governorship election in Ekiti State are selling their votes at the polling units where they are queuing to exercise their franchise.

PREMIUM TIMES observed across multiple polling units in Emure-Ekiti and Ose-Ekiti Local Government Areas, with incidents consistent with vote-buying at several polling units

Party agents were seen asking voters to display their marked ballot papers as proof of voting preference. Rather than distributing cash directly at the polling units, some agents issued numbers to voters after they cast their ballots.

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The purpose of the numbers could not be independently verified by this newspaper. However, the practice was observed repeatedly across some of the polling units visited, with voters receiving numbers after showing their ballot papers to party agents.

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Election observers have previously identified the use of coded numbers, tokens and other verification methods as tactics sometimes employed to facilitate vote-buying while avoiding the direct exchange of cash at polling units.

Security personnel and election officials were present at the affected polling units at the time of observation.