By Julian Osamoto
Observers from Yiaga Africa have raised concerns over low voter turnout, logistical failures, and fragile ward-level collation in the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.
The elections, conducted on Saturday, February 21, covered six Area Councils, including Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali, with 68 seats contested, including six chairpersons and 62 councillors.
A statement by the executive director Yiaga Africa Samson Itodo, reveals that it deploy observers to 58 of 62 ward collation centres. “Observers reported that collation in 66% of centres commenced between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm, while 10% began between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm”.
“In Kuje Central and Kabi wards, collation did not begin until the following morning. Delays were attributed to late arrival of materials, logistical failures, and intimidation of officials by political thugs requiring security intervention”.
Transparency and Procedure
• In 80% of centres, results for chairmanship elections were publicly displayed on Form EC60E.
• Party agents were requested to countersign forms in 95% of centres, with compliance rates varying: ADC 88%, APC 93%, PDP 91%, SDP 59%.
• Distribution of Form EC8B to relevant parties occurred in all observed centres, though 2% recorded disagreements with declared results.
• Security personnel were present in 98% of collation centres.
Reported Incidents
Observers recorded instances of intimidation, harassment, and violence at several centres:
• Zuba Ward, Gwagwalada: An argument between a party agent and INEC officials escalated, prompting security personnel to deploy tear gas, temporarily halting collation.
• Ashara Ward, Kwali: Community members rejected declared results, leading to unrest and vandalism of two INEC vehicles. Observers evacuated for safety.
• Kuje Central: Disruption by suspected political thugs forced officials to move materials to an alternative location, halting collation temporarily.
According to the statement, in some wards, collation did not conclude at the designated centres due to delayed submission of results from polling units or the theft of a ballot box, which later was recovered.
Observers noted temporary portal downtime, causing public concern, under the Electoral Act 2026, polling unit results must be transmitted electronically via INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Upload rates reached 73% by the end of Election Day. “By 4:30 pm on Sunday, 2,641 chairmanship and 2,542 councillorships result out of 2,822 polling units had been uploaded, approximately 94% and 90% respectively”.
Recommendations
Yiaga Africa called on INEC to:
• Strengthen logistics and deployment planning to ensure timely delivery of materials and personnel.
• Complete voter redistribution exercises and communicate changes effectively to prevent disenfranchisement.
• Enforce strict adherence to collation procedures and timely transmission of results to the IReV portal.
• Conduct independent post-election audits of electronic transmission systems.
It also advises security agencies to investigate alleged collusion between security personnel and political thugs, while political parties should train ward-level agents on legal rights, form authentication, and dispute resolution. “Avoid deploying thugs near collation centres and cooperate with security agencies”.
