INEC reports 1,059,660 registered voters for Ekiti election; Amupitan cautions against vote buying.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Ojo Amupitan, assured political parties and voters in Ekiti State on Wednesday that the commission would conduct a free, fair and credible governorship election. He declared that vote trading would not be tolerated during the June 20 poll.

Amupitan made the statement in Ado‑Ekiti during an engagement to evaluate INEC’s readiness for the off‑cycle governorship election and to present the voters register to political parties ahead of the June 20 vote.

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 of the nine major activities listed in the election timetable. The remaining tasks 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 rose 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 scrutinize the register and report any discrepancies promptly, while also mobilizing eligible voters to participate actively in the election.

He stressed that credible elections remain 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 percent 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.