2027: INEC assures Osun voters of readiness, completes nine of 14 activities

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State has completed nine of the 14 major activities on its timetable for the 2027 general elections, assuring residents of its preparedness to conduct free, fair, credible and transparent polls.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing at the INEC Media Centre in Osogbo, where she outlined the commission’s preparations and ongoing activities ahead of the elections scheduled for January 16 and February 6, 2027.

Babalola said the commission had also recorded an increase in Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection, with the rate rising from 81.5 per cent before the August 15 governorship election to 81.74 per cent as of November 3, following the collection of an additional 7,547 PVCs.

She disclosed that INEC had 5,763 functional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for the elections. The devices comprise those to be deployed across the state’s 3,763 polling units and 38 split polling units, as well as 1,328 backup machines.

The REC said the commission had also concluded the physical display of the preliminary register of voters across registration areas in the state. She added that the register had been uploaded to its dedicated online portal to enable eligible voters to scrutinise their details and make claims or objections ahead of the publication of the final register on December 15.

On electoral logistics, she said reusable non-sensitive election materials retrieved after the governorship election had been sorted and batched into polling units. She added that the state had received some of the non-sensitive materials required for the election, while the outstanding materials would arrive soon. “INEC Osun State Office is collaborating closely with relevant security agencies to ensure their safe storage. Sensitive election materials will be delivered and deployed to Local Government Areas in the week of the election,” she said.

Babalola further disclosed that the recruitment of ad hoc election personnel, which commenced on September 18, would close on November 18, while media accreditation for the 2027 elections, which began on October 30, would end on December 1. She urged eligible applicants and media organisations to complete their registration through the commission’s designated online portals.

Reviewing the August 15 governorship election, she attributed its success to meticulous planning, timely release of funds, adequate security, early deployment of electoral materials and effective stakeholder engagement. She added that the BVAS operated seamlessly for voter accreditation and result uploads across the state’s 3,763 polling units, while 87 per cent of polling unit results had been uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal as of 4:30 p.m. on election day.