Athena election observatory strengthens post-election audit capacity ahead of Ekiti governorship poll

The Athena Election Observatory (AEO), an initiative of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, has concluded preparations for a comprehensive post-election audit of the Ekiti State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, June 20, 2026, while also gearing up for the release of its audit reports on the Ondo and Anambra governorship elections.

The three audits will be conducted under a substantially enhanced analytical framework developed over the past several months. The upgraded platform introduces stricter verification protocols, stronger data-quality controls, revised analytical rules, and expanded processing capacity designed to improve both the speed and depth of post-election analysis.

The Ekiti exercise marks a significant advancement in the speed, depth and reliability of the Observatory’s election audit methodology. While the Observatory has previously relied on IReV data as a core component of its post-election audits, result capture traditionally began only after elections had concluded.

For the Ekiti poll, however, the Observatory will deploy more than 200 trained data-entry personnel and quality-control officers in its first large-scale near-real-time result-capture operation, tracking polling-unit results as they are uploaded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to its IReV portal. This is expected to accelerate the availability of election data for analysis.

Speaking ahead of the election, Osita Chidoka, OFR, NPoM, Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, described the development as an important step in strengthening evidence-based election auditing in Nigeria.

“The credibility of elections depends not only on how votes are cast, but also on the quality of evidence available to assess the process afterwards,” Chidoka said. “The Ekiti exercise strengthens our ability to build a comprehensive evidentiary record from the earliest stages of result publication and lays the foundation for more timely and rigorous post-election analysis.”

The Observatory stressed that near-real-time result capture is distinct from its post-election audit process. The capture exercise is designed to create an early and structured repository of polling-unit results, while verification, reconciliation and forensic analysis are carried out subsequently as additional electoral records become available.

The near-real-time capture operation will also enable the Observatory to produce preliminary assessments of results management and aspects of election administration shortly after the poll. These findings will later be complemented by a full forensic audit based on additional electoral records obtained through Freedom of Information requests to INEC.

As with previous audits, the Observatory will seek access to BVAS accreditation data and statutory election documents, including Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E and EC40G. These records form the evidentiary basis for its audit methodology. The datasets will be integrated into the Observatory’s proprietary election analysis platform and reconciled with polling-unit results to assess accreditation patterns, collation processes, compliance with electoral regulations and other indicators relevant to electoral integrity.

According to Chidoka, the release of the Ondo and Anambra audit reports was deliberately deferred to allow for the completion, testing, and validation of the upgraded platform.

“Rather than release reports under an earlier framework, we took the decision to complete the upgrade and subject all three elections to a more robust analytical process. The result is a stronger methodology, greater consistency across audits, and deeper insight into electoral administration and outcomes.”

The Centre confirmed that comprehensive audit reports on the Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti governorship elections will now be released under the enhanced framework, enabling improved comparability across elections and strengthening the evidence base for electoral reform discussions.