DESCRIPTION

During the 2026 Ekiti State Governorship Election,wdeployed 178 trained observers who used the NaijaTalk App to send real-time field reports to a central Election Day Data Room (EDDR) in Ado-Ekiti. Data from the EDDR revealed that the biggest threat to the election's credibility was voter inducement rather than physical violence. Reports of vote trading were verified across 13 Local Government Areas, where party agents frequently offered voters between ₦7,001 and ₦10,000, along with food items, in exchange for votes. While security personnel generally kept the peace and no election-day deaths were recorded, physical violence remained isolated. 13 incidents of violence, were verified, mostly physical assaults and intimidation, with over half occurring in Ado-Ekiti.