The challenge of Nigeria’s electoral system has been the opacity of the exercise which gives room for rigging, violence and manipulation of the voting processes. Most of the past elections in the country had fallen into the ugly trap, thereby casting doubts on the credibility of the outcome and exposing the country to ridicule abroad. The Ekiti governorship election therefore, offers INEC another chance to redeem its image that has remained dented since the 2023 general elections in which it performed below expectations, or further slide in public rating and essence.

Voters in Ekiti State will file out today to elect a new governor. 14 out of the 22 registered political parties are squaring up for the contest, that is largely seen as a three-horse race involving three major contenders — incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Voting is expected to start at 8:30 am and end at 2:30 pm. However, voters already on the queue by 2:30 pm will still be allowed to vote, according to INEC. At the end of voting, the results will be collated across all polling units, after which INEC will officially announce the winner.

The election will hold across the state’s 16 local government areas, 177 wards and 2,445 polling units. The total number of registered voters in the State is 1,059,360. Out of this figure, 1,028,929 (97.13%) have collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), while 30,431 (2.87%) of the PVCs are uncollected.

To ensure a credible exercise, President Bola Tinubu has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and political parties to work towards peaceful, free and fair poll, warning that democracy fails when citizens lose confidence in the electoral process. The President gave the advice in his Democracy Day address to the nation, on Friday, June 12.

INEC has on its own, assured of conducting a free, fair and credible election. As proof of its commitment to the success of the poll, the commission had by Thursday, commenced movement of sensitive election materials to the 16 local government areas of the state. The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the State, Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi, confirmed that the commission would begin the distribution of sensitive materials to local government areas on that day. The materials include ballot papers, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines and voter registers, among other election components required for the conduct of the poll.

In similar note of preparation, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has deployed 10,000 personnel, with the Police assuring of activating a comprehensive election security framework to safeguard the poll. Equally, the Court of Appeal has constituted the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, while the Nigerian Air Force confirmed the successful airlift of sensitive electoral materials to support the election.

Major political parties and candidates involved in the poll, have also expressed readiness for the exercise, having concluded their rallies. On paper, therefore, all the arrangements and processes needed for a successful Ekiti poll, are already in place. However, expectations on the election go beyond mere declaration of readiness by INEC and other bodies involved in the exercise. The election stands as a significant political test for the country ahead of the 2027 general election.

All eyes are on the INEC to do the needful, which is delivering free, fair and credible election. Today’s outing in Ekiti, is a litmus test for the Commission ahead of the 2027 general election. The INEC national chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan must get it right, given his earlier promise to deliver the best election in Nigerian history. He should use Ekiti poll to demonstrate that pledge. This is especially as the November 8, 2025, Anambra governorship poll, the first outing by INEC under him which took place barely 15 days after he was officially sworn in as Chairman, was adjudged by many as failing the critical test of fairness and transparency. The Ekiti election, thus, provides him and his team another opportunity to redeem the image of the Commission.

Nigerians do not expect anything short of a free and fair election in Ekiti. The stakes are high, just as the election is important to the parties involved and will be keenly contested. INEC should ensure that the votes count. Prof Amupitan should keep to his promise of maintaining a level-playing ground for the contestants. Let the electoral umpire remain the impartial arbiter that the constitution envisages it to be.

The challenge of Nigeria’s electoral system has been the opacity of the exercise which gives room for rigging, violence and manipulation of the voting processes. Most of the past elections in the country had fallen into the ugly trap, thereby casting doubts on the credibility of the outcome and exposing the country to ridicule abroad. The Ekiti governorship election therefore, offers INEC another chance to redeem its image that has remained dented since the 2023 general elections in which it performed below expectations, or further slide in public rating and essence. The commission needs to prove that it has learned its lessons by delivering transparent election.

It has been severally argued that though democracy is not a sure guarantee for emergence of good leaders or governance, it assures of the people-content by which the people have a say on how their leaders emerge, of course, through their votes. That was what Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, meant by defining democracy as the government of the people, for the people and by the people. Election seasons provide windows to put the definition into practice.

For Prof Amupitan, the Ekiti poll is more than just a call to duty. It is a referendum on his place in history. It is good that he is a lawyer, in fact, a teacher of the subject and Senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN). His reputation and professional standing is therefore at stake. A flop in the election, will rub off poorly on him.

Let the outcome be a reflection of the wishes of the people. The conduct of the election and its outcome will go a long way in rekindling the confidence of Nigerians in INEC or further smear the already battered image the Commission presently has. The pledge of neutrality by the INEC Chairman is a welcome development. Ekiti voters do not expect anything lesser from him.

It is worth noting that the successful conduct of the poll requires commitment and cooperation by the critical stakeholders in the state, apart from the INEC. In this regard, the political parties, the candidates and their supporters should play by the rule. They should eschew violence, vote buying, voter inducement and other electoral infractions. Winning the contest should not be a do-or-die affair. Let the voters vote according to their conscience. The election does not worth the blood of any Ekiti indigene or resident. The people’s will should be respected. Security agencies deployed for electoral duty should discharge such with utmost patriotism and remain apolitical. They must maintain position of absolute neutrality and provide adequate security for all. How the security agents, especially the police conduct themselves in Ekiti, will speak much on the trust Nigerians will place on the Inspector General, Tunji Disu in future contests in the land.

There is need for synergy among INEC, security agencies and other stakeholders to guard against ballot snatching, vote buying and other acts of electoral offences. Under aged voting should be discouraged. Nothing should be allowed to compromise the poll in Ekiti. INEC should ensure that the Ekiti poll is a resounding success