The Independent National Electoral Commission has pledged to build on the outcome of the Osun State governorship election and deliver improved elections in the 2027 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, gave the assurance on Thursday when he received a solidarity delegation at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The delegation, comprising political parties, civil society organisations, community leaders, youth and women groups and other democratic stakeholders, visited the commission to commend its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, and the commission for the conduct of the August 15 Osun governorship election.
Haruna, who represented Amupitan, said the commission remained committed to conducting free, fair and credible elections, adding that lessons from previous polls would continue to inform improvements in its electoral processes.
“We are committed to conducting free, fair and credible elections. As you agree with me, all the past elections we’ve had, each one has always been better than the one before.”
He assured the delegation that the commission would improve on the Osun experience as it prepares for the 2027 general elections.
“So, consistent with that, God willing, the next general election, there will be an improvement on Osun and, ultimately, the general election itself next year, there will be an improvement,” Haruna said.
Earlier, the delegation’s convener, Obed Agu, said the visit was not a protest but an appreciation of the commission’s conduct of the Osun election, which he said had helped to renew public confidence in the electoral process.
Agu said the group reviewed the commission’s pre-election preparations, election-day conduct, security arrangements, results management and stakeholder engagement during a two-day National Post-Election Discourse convened by the African Centre for Justice and Human Rights.
The delegation said Amupitan had earned its confidence through what it described as the commission’s institutional independence, engagement with political parties and adherence to electoral timelines.
“Professor Amupitan, you have earned confidence,” the group told the INEC chairman, while urging the commission to sustain and improve on the standard ahead of the 2027 elections.
Agu said the commendation was based on what the group described as significant improvements recorded during the Osun poll, noting that voter turnout exceeded 40 per cent while election results were uploaded in real time.
He stressed that the commendation was not influenced by the fact that the election was won by an opposition party, saying INEC would have received similar recognition if the ruling party had emerged victorious under conditions considered free and credible.
“It is not basically because it was won by an opposition political party,” Agu said.
He, however, urged INEC to raise the standard further in the 2027 elections.
“We also ask INEC and the leadership of INEC to please do better than what they have done in Osun so that the faces of Nigerians will smile,” he said.
The delegation also urged INEC to ensure equal treatment of voters and political parties while maintaining its independence, transparency and adherence to electoral rules.
It further acknowledged the roles of President Bola Tinubu and security agencies in creating what it described as an environment that enabled the Osun election to take place without undue interference.
The commission’s pledge comes as political parties and candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections, with INEC expected to use lessons from recent off-cycle elections, including Osun, to strengthen the electoral process.
