TMG Commends INEC, Osun Voters, Urges Protection of Electoral Mandate
The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and voters in Osun State for the conduct of Saturday’s governorship election, urging political stakeholders and the judiciary to protect the mandate expressed by the electorate.
The group said the election was largely free of major technical problems in most polling locations, while results were generally uploaded in real time through the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
TMG made this known in a statement issued on Sunday by its chairman, Auwal Musa, who is also the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).
Musa, popularly known as Rafsanjani, said the Osun election demonstrated that improvements in Nigeria’s electoral system were achievable when INEC’s procedures and technology functioned effectively.
He commended the electoral commission for areas where it performed well, while stressing the need for Nigerians to continue demanding transparency and accountability.
“INEC deserves commendation where it gets things right. The Osun experience demonstrates that the Commission is capable of conducting a transparent electoral process, particularly through the effective deployment of technology and real-time results transmission,” he said.
However, TMG cautioned against placing the entire responsibility for electoral malpractice on INEC, noting that activities such as vote buying, voter intimidation and thuggery are frequently carried out by politicians and their agents.
The group called for anyone found engaging in such practices to be held accountable.
TMG also appealed to the judiciary to protect genuine electoral mandates and ensure that post-election litigation does not undermine the will of voters. While acknowledging the courts’ constitutional responsibility to resolve electoral disputes, it said legal challenges should strengthen confidence in the electoral process rather than be used to overturn voters’ choices through technicalities or politically motivated cases.
The statement followed the declaration of Accord Party candidate Ademola Adeleke as winner of the election by the State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, at the collation centre in Osogbo on Sunday.
Adeleke polled 511,067 votes, defeating his closest challenger, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes. African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Najeem Salaam came third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won by a margin of 66,252 votes.
A total of 2,339,544 voters were registered for the election, while 1,010,684 were accredited. Of the 1,005,800 votes cast, 985,079 were declared valid and 20,721 were rejected.
TMG also praised Osun voters for participating peacefully despite reports of vote buying, intimidation, harassment and other attempts to influence the electorate.
It said the outcome should serve as a warning to politicians who believe that money, violence or voter suppression can permanently determine electoral outcomes.
The group urged all candidates and political parties to accept the results and use lawful channels to address any genuine grievances.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, TMG called on Nigerians to take greater responsibility for choosing their leaders by obtaining and protecting their Permanent Voter Cards, participating actively in elections and rejecting vote buying.
It further urged voters to assess candidates based on their character, competence, track record and programmes rather than religion, ethnicity, region or political affiliation.
“Democracy is ultimately strengthened by informed and courageous voters. Nigerians must not sell their votes and must not allow religion, ethnicity, region or party loyalty to replace the responsibility of evaluating candidates on their character, competence, track record and credible plans for the country,” the group said.
TMG also urged INEC to build on the gains recorded in Osun by improving election technology, logistics, voter accreditation, results transmission and public communication ahead of the 2027 elections.
It called on security and law enforcement agencies to strengthen efforts against vote buying, intimidation, thuggery and other electoral offences.
According to the group, the experience in Osun, alongside recent governorship elections in Anambra, Ondo, Edo and Ekiti states, demonstrates that peaceful elections are possible when electoral processes are credible and the wishes of voters are respected.
