Adebayo Adenrele
The Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has recorded 17 cases of party-agent interference and 19 reports of vote trading in its preliminary assessment of the 2026 Osun State Governorship Election, while three violence-related incidents were also documented as of the time of its assessment.
The preliminary statement, read by Professor Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and Professor Ernest Ereke said the organisation monitored the conduct and presence of party agents across polling locations, with particular attention to activities capable of undermining the integrity of the electoral process.
According to KDI, the 17 reports of party-agent interference represented about 4.9 per cent of the observations relating to party-agent conduct received through its Election Day Data Room (EDDR) at the time of the statement.
The organisation also recorded seven reports of interference by security agents in polling activities.
KDI, however, noted that the reported cases of interference remained relatively limited compared with the overall volume of observations received, stressing that their occurrence across different locations warranted continued monitoring.
It said its assessment distinguished between the legitimate activities of party agents and actions that obstruct voting, intimidate voters or interfere with election officials and the voting process.
On voter inducement, KDI said its EDDR had received 19 reports of alleged vote trading out of 2,127 total reports received at the time of the assessment, representing approximately 0.9 per cent.
The organisation said party supporters, party agents and community leaders were among those identified as actors associated with the reported incidents, noting that some reports involved more than one actor.
According to the preliminary assessment, the reports of vote trading were concentrated in certain local government areas, with Odo-Otin recording the highest number, followed by Irepodun, Ife North and Osogbo.
KDI said the emerging pattern suggested that political and community-level actors remained important components of the reported environment of voter inducement.
It said it would continue to examine the scale and geographical concentration of the alleged vote trading, the actors involved and the forms of inducement being reported.
The organisation added that it would also investigate whether the reported activities were connected with intimidation, political interference or other actions capable of undermining voters’ freedom to make independent choices.
Three violence incidents recorded
On election-day security and violence, KDI said three violence-related reports had been recorded as of the preliminary assessment.
It said two of the incidents were reported in Ife East and Ejigbo, while another was recorded in Ilesa West.
According to the organisation, at Modakeke Ward 3 in Ife East, an incident involving security personnel was reported at a Registration Area Centre (RAC), where police officers allegedly invaded the facility and fired tear gas in an attempt to disrupt the distribution of election materials.
KDI said the election materials were also allegedly carted away during the incident.
In Ejigbo Local Government Area, Ward 4, Unit 13, political thugs were reportedly alleged to have invaded the polling unit, chased voters away and snatched election materials, thereby disrupting the voting process.
Similarly, in Ilesa West Local Government Area, Ward 8, Unit 7, political thugs were reported to have disrupted activities at the polling unit and chased voters away.
The organisation said the early picture of election-day violence was considerably different from the more elevated level of violence recorded during the pre-election period.
KDI disclosed that its pre-election monitoring had documented 81 election-related violence incidents between October 2025 and August 2026, resulting in 15 fatalities.
It said the relatively low number of verified election-day violence reports received by its 12 noon cut-off was encouraging, but cautioned that the figure was not enough to establish a definitive pattern of election-day security.
KDI also warned that the preliminary figures should not be interpreted as evidence that security risks associated with the election had disappeared.
The organisation said its immediate concern was to monitor whether security personnel maintained professionalism, proportionality and non-interference as voting progressed, turnout increased and political actors responded to emerging results.
It further stressed the importance of ensuring that security agencies remained responsive and professional during the counting and collation stages of the election.
KDI said it would continue to monitor both the occurrence of incidents and the conduct of security agencies throughout the remainder of the electoral process, with the objective of providing a clearer assessment of the overall integrity and security of the Osun governorship election.
