Osun Governorship Election: 14 Parties Set to Contest, INEC Warns Against Violence

The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that 14 political parties will be participating in the upcoming Osun State governorship election, scheduled to take place on August 15. Prof. Joash Amupitan, the Chairman of INEC, expressed concerns over reports of violence and threats, emphasizing that such actions undermine the integrity of the electoral process. He stated that the commission is committed to ensuring a peaceful and secure environment for the election, and has put in place measures to prevent and respond to any potential security threats. Amupitan also announced that 32,000 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) will be recruited to support the election process through the INECPRES portal. The total number of registered voters in Osun State stands at 2,339,233, with 3,763 polling units across 320 wards and 30 local government areas. The INEC Chairman conducted a field inspection of the ongoing Mock Accreditation Exercise, which aimed to test the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in selected polling units. The exercise demonstrated the effectiveness of the BVAS in verifying voters, with an average verification time of between 30 seconds and two minutes. Amupitan assured that the commission has increased the number of BVAS devices from 4,427 to 5,130, with additional backup devices available in case of malfunctions. The Accord Party in Osun State has called on INEC to review the configuration of the BVAS machines following anomalies observed during the mock voting exercise. The party has requested a comprehensive technical audit with the involvement of relevant stakeholders to address the issues. The INEC Chairman has emphasized the importance of a peaceful and secure environment for the election, and has activated a security synergy with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to combat any potential threats.