Olushola Omogbehin
Yiaga Africa, has said that its preliminary report on the 2026 Federal Capital Area Council Elections held on Saturday revealed that the election was full of vote buying.
According to the leading civil society organization, which deployed trained and duly accredited roving observers to systematically monitor the conduct of the elections, vote buying occurred at various polling units in the election.
Yiaga said observers were deployed early in the morning to monitor polling units across the six area councils of the FCT and the 62 councillorship seats and to observe the opening of polling unit, voting procedures, accreditation and counting.
Yiaga through DAILY POST said election was conducted in peaceful atmosphere as voters who presented themselves were allowed to vote without threat but with absolute low voters turnout.
Some of the logistical challenges that affected the timely commencement election, particularly in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, were delays in the arrival of materials and INEC officials.
Speaking: “Yiaga Africa observers reported a delayed commencement of polling in several polling units, primarily attributable to logistical inefficiencies and, in some instances, election security–related challenges.
“As of 9:00 a.m., set-up activities were still ongoing in the majority of polling units observed, indicating that essential preparatory procedures had not been completed within the timeframe prescribed by electoral guidelines.
“In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), particularly in Wuse and Gwarinpa wards, several polling units opened significantly behind schedule. Observers noted that polling officials were still arranging materials and organizing the voting environment as at 9:00 a.m., with accreditation and voting commencing only after 10:00 a.m. On average, across the sampled polling units observed, accreditation and voting began at approximately 10:00 a.m.
“Consistent with the Commission’s guidelines, critical election materials including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and the voter register—were deployed in the polling units observed.
“However, in Polling Unit 004, Wuse Ward, Zone 2 Primary School, the voter register was not initially available and was only produced after observers raised concerns and voters objected. In addition, essential voting materials were absent in certain locations. Voting cubicles were not observed in PU002 (Ward 09), PU006 (Ward 01), and PU012 (Ward 10) in Abaji Area Council. Furthermore, an ink pad required for the voting process was reportedly missing in one polling unit observed.
“Observers reported instances in which voters were reassigned to newly created polling units without prior or adequate notification. While Yiaga Africa acknowledges INEC’s efforts to notify affected voters via SMS, many of these messages were delivered on Election Day, with some received hours after polling had already commenced. The lack of timely and effective communication generated confusion at several polling locations, as numerous voters spent over an hour attempting to ascertain their designated polling units.
“The observation further revealed significant disparities in voter distribution within the same polling locations. Such pronounced imbalances raise serious concerns regarding the coherence, and reliability of the Commission’s polling unit expansion and voter redistribution framework.
“Closing of Polling Unit before the official 2:30pm: Observers reported some polling
units closing the polling process before the official 2:30pm close time. While some
polling units experienced poor voter participation, the guideline requires the polling unit to remain open until 2:30pm or the last person on the queue votes.
“Security Deployment and Observer Access: Yiaga Africa observed heavy security deployment in certain locations, which, in some instances, impeded the movement of accredited election observers and restricted access to polling units. Observers further noted that the heightened security presence created barriers for citizens attempting to access polling units to exercise their right to vote.
“Vote buying: The persistent menace of vote buying once again manifested during the election. Yiaga Africa observers documented incidents of vote buying at polling units, underscoring the continued vulnerability of the electoral process to monetary inducement. These illicit practices reportedly continued in several locations.”
