By Gabriel Ameh
Yiaga Africa has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the successful conduct of its mock accreditation exercise ahead of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election but raised concerns over conflicting information regarding the proposed downloadable Permanent Voter Card (PVC).
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Samson Itodo, Yiaga Africa said it observed the exercise conducted on Friday across six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state’s three senatorial districts, deploying observers to selected centres in Ado-Ekiti and Ikere LGAs.
According to the election monitoring group, the exercise began at 8:00 a.m. and ended at 2:30 p.m., with INEC officials present throughout the process. Observers reported that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned effectively at all monitored centres, with voter accreditation taking less than one minute on average.
Yiaga Africa described the performance of the BVAS as a positive sign of INEC’s technical preparedness for the upcoming governorship election.
Despite the smooth operation of the accreditation technology, the group noted that voter turnout was low. By 1:00 p.m., only 79 voters had participated in the mock exercise across the four centres observed.
The organisation also reported that some individuals who attempted to participate were unable to do so because they were not registered in the polling units where the exercise was taking place. It stressed that the development highlights the need for stronger voter education and public awareness campaigns ahead of the election.
A major concern raised by Yiaga Africa was the lack of clear communication from INEC regarding the proposed downloadable PVC. The group said polling officials at various centres were aware of the initiative but had not received any official directive from INEC headquarters on whether the downloadable PVC would be accepted during the governorship election.
In Ikere LGA, some INEC officials reportedly informed observers that the downloadable PVC would not be used. However, some registered voters who visited INEC offices to collect their PVCs claimed they were told that a downloadable version would eventually be available on INEC’s website for election-day use.
Yiaga Africa further disclosed that its team visited an INEC ad-hoc staff training centre in Ikere, where National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and other election officials were being trained. While training manuals reportedly contained provisions relating to the downloadable PVC, facilitators said they were not instructed to train officials on those provisions.
The organisation warned that the discrepancy between training materials and instructions given to trainers could create confusion among election officials and lead to inconsistent voter accreditation procedures on election day.
Yiaga Africa urged INEC to urgently clarify its position on the use of downloadable PVCs and communicate its decision clearly to electoral officials, political parties, civil society groups and the public.
The group also called on the commission to harmonise its training materials with official policies, intensify voter education efforts and continue testing election technologies while preparing contingency measures for possible technical challenges.
Yiaga Africa praised INEC for conducting the mock accreditation exercise, noting that continuous testing, transparent communication and early correction of identified gaps are critical to strengthening public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the Ekiti governorship election.
