INEC presents Ekiti voters’ register to political parties, confirms 1.05m eligible voters

By Idowu Adebomi

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented the official voters’ register for the June 20, 2026, governorship election in Ekiti State to participating political parties, announcing that a total of 1,059,360 eligible voters have been registered for the exercise.

Speaking during the presentation ceremony at the INEC headquarters in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, the INEC National Chairman, Joash Amupitan, described the event as a significant constitutional and statutory responsibility aimed at strengthening the credibility and transparency of the electoral process ahead of the poll.

Amupitan explained that the Electoral Act mandates the commission to publish and present the voters’ register to political parties at least 30 days before any election.

He disclosed that seven out of the nine major activities outlined in the commission’s timetable for the Ekiti governorship election had already been successfully completed.

According to him, the remaining activities include the conclusion of political campaigns on June 18 and the conduct of the governorship election on June 20.

He noted that the presence of national commissioners at the event underscored the importance the commission attaches to the Ekiti poll.

Describing the voters’ register as the foundation of every credible election, the INEC chairman said the register was compiled after extensive data collection, verification, and cleaning processes to ensure accuracy and integrity.

He assured political parties and stakeholders that the commission complied fully with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, including the integration of newly registered voters into the existing database.

Amupitan revealed that while Ekiti State recorded about 900,000 registered voters during the 2023 elections, the figure had increased significantly following the continuous voter registration exercise.

He added that approximately 66,000 new voters were captured, bringing the total to over 1.05 million.

He urged political parties to scrutinize the register carefully and promptly report any discrepancies, stressing that the responsibility for conducting free, fair, and credible elections must be shared among INEC, political actors, and other stakeholders.

The INEC chairman also announced that the signing of a peace accord by political parties would take place during the week as part of efforts to ensure peaceful campaigns and issue-based political engagements.

He warned against vote-buying, describing it as a criminal offense under the Electoral Act, and called on security and anti-corruption agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Nigeria Police Force to arrest and prosecute offenders.

Earlier in his remarks, the Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said the commission had continued to make steady progress in its preparations for the governorship election.

Omoseyindemi stated that INEC had sustained collaboration with security agencies, political parties, traditional institutions, civil society organizations, and the media to guarantee a peaceful, inclusive, and transparent election process across the state.

He added that the commission had intensified voter education and sensitization campaigns across the 16 local government areas of the state to tackle voter apathy, misinformation, and election-related tension.

According to him, INEC had also strengthened logistics, communication systems, and deployment plans for the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other election technologies.

The REC further disclosed that the training and retraining of electoral officials and ad-hoc staff were ongoing, while measures had been enhanced for the secure distribution of both sensitive and non-sensitive election materials.

He appealed to political parties, candidates, and their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully before, during, and after the election, noting that Ekiti State had earned a reputation for political maturity and democratic participation which must be sustained.