Osun election: A post mortem
Hours before the Osun off-cycle governorship election on Saturday, August 15, 2026, the tension in the state, which also gripped the entire country like a vice, was so thick that one could cut it with a blunt machete. By the counting of three observer groups – The Kukah Centre, Kimpact Development Initiative and YIAGA-AFRICA – […]
The Osun off-cycle governorship election on August 15, 2026, saw heightened tension across the state and the nation. Reports indicate that at least 30 individuals were killed in election-related violence, with Senator Francis Fadahunsi allegedly ordering his supporters to kill opponents from the Accord Party. The governing party's heavy presence and the Federal High Court's last-minute directive for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate on the ballot added to the complexity.
INEC faced numerous challenges, including security incidents, alleged electoral offences, and ballot box snatching, leading to the cancellation of results in several polling units. Despite these issues, the election was keenly contested, with a voter turnout of 43.20%, the highest in recent years. The Accord Party's candidate, Adeleke Ademola Jackson Nurudeen, emerged victorious with a substantial margin of 66,252 votes, marking the largest margin since 2018.
The election's success underscores the importance of professionalism, integrity, and vigilance in the electoral process, encouraging future candidates and opposition parties to learn from this experience.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Trust's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
