The 2026 Ekiti State governorship election was largely peaceful and orderly across the state, although delays in the arrival of election officials and glitches associated with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) affected voting in some polling units, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has said.
The election monitoring group disclosed this in its mid-day assessment of the governorship poll released on Saturday and signed by its Executive Director, Bukola Idowu.
The statement, which was based on verified reports from KDI’s Election Day Data Room, noted that while the integrity of election materials remained high and most polling units commenced voting within acceptable timelines, logistical shortcomings persisted in several parts of the state.
According to KDI, reports from 384 observation locations showed that only 52.3 per cent of polling units recorded early or on-time arrival of election officials, while 47.7 per cent experienced delays beyond the official 7:30 a.m. benchmark.
The organisation said the highest concentrations of late arrivals were recorded in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti West, Ekiti East, Ikere and Ikole Local Government Areas.
KDI observed that contrary to popular assumptions that election logistics challenges are more common in remote areas, some of the most significant delays occurred in urban and relatively accessible locations.
It attributed the development to factors such as personnel deployment challenges, coordination issues at Registration Area Centres, traffic management and election morning logistics.
Despite the delays, the group reported that election materials were largely delivered intact across the state.
It stated that 97.4 per cent of observed polling units received complete and uncompromised election materials, while only 2.6 per cent reported missing or compromised items.
Among the materials reported missing in a few locations were ballot papers, voter registers, BVAS devices, result sheets and voter information materials.
KDI further noted that analysis from 318 verified reports indicated that 84 per cent of polling units commenced voting on time, while 16 per cent started later than the prescribed benchmark.
The organisation said this suggested that election officials were able to minimise some of the impact of delayed arrivals through operational adjustments at polling-unit level.
However, it noted that areas recording late arrivals also witnessed delayed commencement of voting, highlighting the relationship between logistics and electoral efficiency.
On security deployment, KDI commended security agencies for maintaining a visible presence across the state.
According to the report, personnel of the Nigeria Police Force accounted for the largest share of security deployments, followed by officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Other agencies observed included the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Armed Forces.
KDI said the extensive deployment contributed to maintaining a peaceful atmosphere and facilitated the movement of election officials and sensitive materials.
The organisation, however, stressed that the effectiveness of election security should not be measured solely by the number of personnel deployed but by their ability to support smooth election administration and protect voters.
It added that the election environment remained generally calm across observed polling units.
On the performance of the BVAS technology, KDI reported that accreditation was successfully conducted in 82.6 per cent of observed polling units.
While describing the figure as relatively satisfactory, the group expressed concern that it represented a decline when compared to the over 96 per cent BVAS functionality recorded during the 2025 Anambra governorship election.
According to KDI, the lower functionality rate points to a reduction in technological performance and operational reliability.
The group also warned that accreditation delays in some polling units could lead to longer queues, voter frustration and slower voting processes.
It stated that the combination of delayed poll openings and slower accreditation could compound election-day inefficiencies, particularly in densely populated voting centres.
Assessing the overall voter experience, KDI said experiences differed across polling units, with some voters enjoying smooth accreditation, timely commencement of voting and adequate security, while others encountered delays and operational interruptions.
The organisation noted that electoral integrity is strengthened not only when elections are peaceful and transparent but also when voters across different communities enjoy similar levels of administrative efficiency and access.
KDI concluded that although the election had so far demonstrated a generally functional and orderly process, persistent challenges relating to logistics, deployment of election officials, commencement of polling and technology performance remained areas of concern.
The organisation said it would continue to monitor voting, security, result management and collation processes before releasing its final assessment of the election.
It added that its post-election report would provide a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity, inclusiveness and credibility of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
