Anambra 2025: Yiaga Africa raises concerns, sets benchmarks for credible poll

As Anambra State prepares for its crucial governorship election on November 8, Yiaga Africa has outlined key concerns and recommendations aimed at ensuring a peaceful, transparent, and credible electoral process.

In a detailed statement jointly signed by Asmau Maikudi, Chair of the 2025 Anambra Election Mission, and Samson Itodo, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, the organisation said the poll would serve as a major test of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under its new leadership, as well as a critical measure of Nigeria’s democratic strength ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to INEC, a total of 2,802,790 registered voters are eligible to participate in the election, including 140,370 newly registered voters across the state’s 326 wards.

Voting, it said, will take place in 5,718 polling units, as two of the expected 5,720 units have no registered voters.

Sixteen political parties are fielding candidates for the governorship race, including two women.

Yiaga Africa’s observation mission

Yiaga Africa announced that it would deploy its flagship citizen observation project, Watching The Vote (WTV), as part of a broader Election Observation Hub supported by the European Union under the EU Support for Democratic Governance Project (EU-SDGN).

The hub includes prominent civil society groups such as The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHER, and TAF Africa. Collectively, these organisations will deploy 687 observers across the state, covering areas such as election integrity, results verification, disability inclusion, gender participation, peacebuilding, misinformation tracking, and logistics.

Yiaga Africa noted that the WTV project is “Driven by Data-For All Nigerians-Beholden to None.”

On election day, it will use the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT), formerly known as Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) to provide real-time, evidence-based assessments of the election process.

The organisation will deploy 250 stationary observers to a statistically representative sample of polling units and 22 mobile observers across all 21 local government areas (LGAs). The data will enable Yiaga Africa to independently verify INEC’s official results.

“If the announced results reflect the ballots cast at polling units, we will confirm the outcome,” the statement read. “However, Yiaga Africa will expose any manipulation of the announced results if they do not match the results announced and posted at polling units.”

Commendation and call for peace

Yiaga Africa commended all 18 governorship candidates for signing the Peace Accord, facilitated by the National Peace Committee led by. Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former Nigerian head of state. It urged all stakeholders, political actors, INEC, security agencies, and voters to commit to a peaceful, fair, inclusive, and credible election.

Key pre-election observations

Yiaga Africa acknowledged INEC’s ongoing preparations, including the training of election officials, deployment of non-sensitive materials, and stakeholder briefings.

INEC also conducted a mock accreditation exercise across 12 polling units in six LGAs. It said that all Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices for the election have been tested and configured.

However, Yiaga Africa expressed concern over reports of BVAS bypass during the August 2025 bye-election, warning that such incidents could undermine voter confidence.

The organisation emphasised that under the Electoral Act 2022, the use of BVAS for accreditation is compulsory and non-negotiable, urging INEC to ensure uniform compliance across all polling units.

On election logistics, Yiaga Africa acknowledged INEC’s deployment of 2,233 buses and 83 boats for material distribution, but cautioned that effective coordination with transport companies and unions was crucial to ensure early arrival of materials and personnel at polling stations.

The group noted that late commencement of polls has historically affected Anambra elections and called for improved logistical efficiency to prevent a repeat of past delays.

On security being a major concern, Yiaga Africa highlighted reports of intimidation and extortion by operatives of the state’s vigilante group, Udo-Gaachi, urging the police to ensure their complete withdrawal at least 24 hours before election day.

The group identified Orumba North, Orumba South, Ogbaru, Ihiala, Nnewi South, and Aguata LGAs as potential security flashpoints requiring intelligence-led deployments.

It also warned of a possible voter turnout below 20 per cent, citing widespread apathy and distrust in the electoral process. The organisation observed that young people in particular showed little interest in registering or voting, a trend that could weaken electoral legitimacy if unaddressed.

Benchmarks

Yiaga Africa identified three key benchmarks that will determine the credibility of the election: efficiency of logistics, integrity of procedures, and impartiality of security agencies.

The first is the efficiency test, which focuses on INEC’s ability to deploy materials and personnel on time.

According to them, past elections recorded poor performance – in 2013, only 39 per cent of polling units opened on time; in 2017, 17 per cent, and in 2021, 28 per cent. The organisation said the 2025 election offers INEC a chance to demonstrate operational efficiency and restore public confidence through timely poll openings and effective coordination with stakeholders.

The second is the integrity test, which emphasises strict adherence to electoral guidelines. Yiaga Africa said the credibility of the election depends on INEC’s commitment to ensuring consistent use of BVAS for voter accreditation, prompt upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), transparent collation of results at ward and LGA levels, and suspension of polls where substantial disruptions occur.

It stressed that INEC’s credibility will depend on enforcing these rules uniformly and maintaining transparency throughout the process.

The third is the impartiality test, which assesses the neutrality of security agencies. Yiaga Africa warned that the conduct of security personnel will be pivotal to public trust. It cited instances from the August 2025 by-election, where politicians reportedly moved with armed escorts and vigilante operatives intimidated voters. The group urged security agencies to remain neutral, professional, and non-partisan, ensuring the safety of voters, observers, and officials.

Recommendations

Yiaga Africa urged INEC to strengthen oversight of logistics and hold transport firms accountable for the timely delivery of election materials.

It called on the commission to clarify polling arrangements in Ihiala LGA to prevent confusion and to enforce full compliance with BVAS and IReV usage, applying sanctions for noncompliance where necessary.

The organisation advised security agencies to provide adequate protection for INEC officials and materials, exclude all non-statutory security groups such as vigilantes from election operations, and maintain neutrality in the performance of their duties. It further recommended intelligence-led deployment to identified flashpoints and proactive arrest of individuals involved in vote buying in collaboration with INEC officials.

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Political parties were urged to honour their commitments under the Peace Accord by shunning violence, inflammatory rhetoric, and vote buying, while ensuring full compliance with electoral laws and guidelines.

Yiaga Africa also called on civil society organisations and the media to intensify voter education, promote civic participation, maintain independent oversight, document and report election incidents promptly, and actively counter disinformation and fake news that could undermine the credibility of the process.