By Law Ibitoye
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Ojo Amupitan, on Wednesday assured political parties and voters in Ekiti State that the commission would conduct a free, fair and credible governorship election, declaring that vote trading will not be allowed during the June 20 poll would count.
Amupitan gave the assurance in Ado-Ekiti during an engagement to assess the readiness of INEC towards June 20th Ekiti election and presentation of voters register to political parties ahead of the off-cycle governorship election in the state. He described the exercise as a constitutional and statutory responsibility of the commission aimed at reinforcing the integrity, transparency and credibility of the electoral process.
The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had completed seven out of the nine major activities contained in the election timetable, adding that the remaining activities include the end of campaigns on June 18 and the conduct of the governorship election on June 20, 2026.
According to him, the updated voters register for Ekiti State increased from about 900,000 registered voters recorded during the 2023 election to approximately 1,059,660 voters following the Continuous Voter Registration exercise. He said the figure represented an addition of about 66,000 new voters.
Amupitan explained that although over 68,000 people initially registered during the exercise, more than 2,000 cases of double registration were detected and removed through the commission’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to ensure the credibility and reliability of the register.
“The voters register is the foundation upon which free, fair and credible elections are built. Its accuracy, completeness and integrity are paramount to ensuring that every eligible voter’s voice is heard,” he said.
He urged political parties to carefully scrutinise the register and report any discrepancies promptly, while also mobilising eligible voters to participate actively in the election. He stressed that credible elections remained a shared responsibility between INEC, political parties, security agencies and voters.
The INEC chairman further announced that political parties would sign a peace accord on Thursday as part of efforts to ensure peaceful campaigns and issue-based politicking ahead of the election. He warned against vote buying and vote trading, describing them as criminal offences under the Electoral Act.
Amupitan also cited the conduct of the Anambra governorship election under his watch as evidence of INEC’s commitment to electoral transparency, noting that 93 per cent of election results were transmitted to the IReV portal by 7 p.m. on election day.
Earlier, the Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said the commission had intensified preparations for the election through engagements with security agencies, political parties, traditional institutions, civil society groups and the media.
He stated that the commission had completed assessments of registration area centres, collation centres and other election facilities across the state, while voter education and sensitisation programmes had been expanded across the 16 local government areas to address voter apathy, misinformation and election-related tension.
Omoseyindemi added that arrangements for logistics, transportation, deployment of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and distribution of sensitive materials under strict security had also been strengthened ahead of the poll.
