FCT polls: Vote buying, low turnout mar election –Yiaga Africa

The Yiaga Africa, a leading civil society organisation (CSO) and global elections monitor, has said that the Saturday’s FCT Area Council elections, were marred by low voters turnout and vote trading among other lapses

This is contained in the preliminary statement on the 2026 FCT Area Council Elections presented on Saturday by the Yiaga Africa in Abuja.

The civic group reported that vote buying was witnessed at various polling units in the election across the six area councils.

The organisation said its Watching the Vote (WTV) preliminary assessment was based on real-time reports from observers and focused strictly on process observation, noting that a Parallel Vote Tabulation was not deployed for the election.

TheTimes reports that while the 36 state independent electoral commissions (SIECS) conduct local government elections in the states, only the FCT is exempted with the constitution mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the local elections in the territory.

Our correspondent also reports that while the 2010 Electoral Act as Amended provided for a three-year tenure, the 2022 Electoral Act as Amended provided for a four-year tenure for elected chairmen and councillors in the territory.

It was the 2022 Act that came into force on Friday 25th February 2022, two weeks after the last area council elections in the FCT, currently in use.

Thus, the elected chairmen and councillors were sworn-in four months later on 14th June 2022, took their oath of allegiance and oath of office on the basis of the new Electoral Act (i.e. the Electoral Act 2022), which provides for a four-year tenure.

Their tenure is expected to terminate in June this year before the winners would be sworn in or incumbents take a fresh oath of office if they were re-elected.

The FCT council elections is to fill the chairmanship as well as 62 councillorship seats of the six area councils, compromising: Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Gwagwalada, Kuje, Bwari, Abaji and Kwali.

The Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, presenting the report at news conference on Saturday in Abuja, however, reported generally peaceful conduct of the elections but also expressed concerns over late commencement of voting, logistical lapses and low voter turnout.

He said that it’s elections observers were deployed by 7:30 a.m. and covered polling units (PUs) across the 62 wards of the FCT, with their mandate including observing key aspects of the voting process, including opening procedures, accreditation, voting, and counting.

Yiaga Africa said it observed that the election was conducted in a largely peaceful atmosphere, and that voters who presented themselves at PUs were afforded the opportunity to exercise their franchise without widespread disruption but that notwithstanding this enabling environment, voter turnout was generally low, with most polling units recording poor turnout.

It said that logistical challenges adversely affected the timely commencement of polling, particularly in the AMAC, where delays in the deployment of personnel and materials contributed to late opening in several locations.

It added that the relocation of certain polling units coupled with inadequate and untimely communication of these changes to voters generated confusion and may have resulted in voter disenfranchisement saying that such administrative lapses have significant implications for electoral access and public

“In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), particularly in Wuse and Gwarinpa wards, several polling units opened significantly behind schedule. Observers noted that polling officials were still arranging materials and organizing the voting environment as at 9:00 a.m., with accreditation and voting commencing only after 10:00 a.m.

“On average, across the sampled polling units observed, accreditation and voting began at approximately 10:00 a.m.

“Consistent with the Commission’s guidelines, critical election materials including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and the voter register—were deployed in the polling units observed.

“However, in Polling Unit 004, Wuse Ward, Zone 2 Primary School, the voter register was not initially available and was only produced after observers raised concerns and voters objected. In addition, essential voting materials were absent in certain locations. Voting cubicles were not observed in PU002 (Ward 09), PU006 (Ward 01), and PU012 (Ward 10) in Abaji
Area Council. Furthermore, an ink pad required for the voting process was reportedly missing in one polling unit observed,” Itodo said.

On Closing of Polling Unit before the official 2:30pm Itodo said observers reported some PUs closing the polling process before the official 2:30pm close time.

According to him, while some
polling units experienced poor voter participation, the guideline requires the polling unit to remain open until 2:30pm or the last person on the queue votes.

He urged INEC to consider extending voting time in affected areas to prevent disenfranchisement and called for strict adherence to transparency measures.

He added, “Security Deployment and Observer Access: Yiaga Africa observed heavy security deployment in certain locations, which, in some instances, impeded the movement of accredited election observers and restricted access to polling units. Observers further noted that the heightened security presence created barriers for citizens attempting to
access polling units to exercise their right to vote.

“Vote buying: The persistent menace of vote buying once again manifested during the election. Yiaga Africa observers documented incidents of vote buying at polling units, underscoring the continued vulnerability of the electoral process to monetary inducement.

“Despite prior assurances and directives issued by INEC to security agencies to identify and apprehend both vote buyers and sellers, these illicit practices reportedly continued in several locations.”

The Yiaga Africa further raised concerns over the redistribution of voters to newly created polling units without adequate prior notification.

He said, “Although INEC reportedly sent SMS notifications, many voters received the messages on election day, leading to confusion, prolonged searches for polling units and congestion at some centres.

“Such administrative shortcomings could discourage participation and undermine confidence in electoral planning.”

The organisation also advised the commission to intensify voter education on polling unit changes through timely public communication and collaboration with stakeholders to minimise confusion in future elections.

Security agencies were urged to maintain professionalism and neutrality, particularly during the collation process, while political parties and supporters were called upon to avoid actions capable of disrupting the electoral process.

“We urge voters, political actors, electoral officials and security agencies to contribute to a peaceful and credible conclusion of the elections,” Itodo said.