The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and voters in Osun State for the conduct of the August 15, 2026 gubernatorial election, while calling for the protection of the people’s mandate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by its President and CEO of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, TMG, described the survey as “relatively smooth” and highlighted the absence of major technical glitches and the real-time uploading of results from voting units to the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
“TMG commends INEC for the relatively smooth conduct of the August 15, 2026 Osun State gubernatorial election, particularly the absence of major technical glitches in most locations and the real-time uploading of polling unit results into IReV,” the group said.
TMG also applauded Osun voters for their resilience and peaceful participation despite reported cases of vote buying, intimidation, harassment and other attempts to suppress voters.
According to the group, the election shows that INEC, under the leadership of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, can deliver a more transparent and credible process when its systems work as intended.
“INEC deserves praise when it gets things right. The Osun experience demonstrates that the Commission is capable of conducting a transparent electoral process, particularly through the effective deployment of technology and real-time transmission of results. At the same time, Nigerians must continue to demand improvements and hold the Commission accountable when it fails,” TMG said.
The group emphasized that electoral malpractices, such as vote buying, bullying and intimidation, are largely driven by politicians and their agents, and should not be attributed solely to INEC.
He urged law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies to intensify measures against such crimes.
TMG further called on the judiciary to protect mandates freely given by voters and ensure that electoral litigation strengthens democracy rather than overturning the will of the people through “technicalities, procedural manipulation or politically motivated litigation.”
The group noted that the peaceful conduct of the recent gubernatorial elections in Anambra, Ondo, Edo, Ekiti and now Osun provides encouraging evidence that credible elections are possible in Nigeria.
Looking ahead to 2027, TMG urged Nigerians to take responsibility by getting their PVCs, turning out to vote and refusing to sell their votes.
“Democracy is ultimately strengthened by informed and courageous voters. Nigerians must not sell their votes and must not allow religion, ethnicity, region or party loyalty to replace the responsibility of evaluating candidates based on their character, competence, track record and credible plans for the country,” he said.
TMG also charged political parties to move away from the politics of violence, vote buying, and ethnic/religious mobilization and instead compete on the basis of character, competence, and credible programs.
The group urged INEC to build on the achievements made in Osun by strengthening electoral technology, logistics, accreditation, results transmission and public communication before 2027.
“Osun’s experience should strengthen Nigerians’ confidence that credible elections are possible. We must give credit where credit is due, demand improvements where necessary and, most importantly, protect the power of the vote by ensuring that every vote counts and every mandate freely given by the people is respected,” TMG added.
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