By Eunice Orike
A non governmental organization, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political actors and the National Assembly to implement sweeping reforms to curb vote-buying and strengthen electoral integrity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The demand came as KDI released its post-election assessment of the 2025 Anambra off-cycle governorship poll, where it observed improved voter turnout but warned that persistent vote-trading, operational lapses and weak enforcement continue to undermine Nigeria’s democratic credibility.
In a statement issued during a press conference held in Abuja by its Project Manager, Mercy Abiem, Team Lead Bukola Idowu, and Head of Research and Strategy, Oluwafemi John, the organisation said Nigeria can no longer treat vote-buying as a “side issue,” noting that the practice is eroding the core of democratic representation.
“Vote-buying is not an isolated infraction it is a corrosive network that distorts the will of voters,” “Unless we dismantle it now, 2027 will inherit the same problems that have plagued recent elections”, the group said.
KDI reported a major surge in voter participation during the Anambra election, with turnout rising to 21.34%, compared to 10.26% recorded in 2021.
It attributed this to coordinated civil society mobilisation, INEC’s pre-election sensitisation, and relatively stable security conditions.
However, despite improved logistics, accreditation and voting began 43 minutes behind schedule on average. INEC officials arrived, 20.29% of polling units before 7:30 a.m, 26.36% between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m, and 18.84% after 9:00 a.m.
“Only 7.15% of polling units began accreditation before the official 8:30 a.m. start time”, KDI said.
KDI blamed the delays on poor polling units mapping, late security deployment, and ad-hoc staff struggling to locate their assigned stations.
One of the findings of the the group also was the pervasive and organised vote-buying network observed across all 326 wards in the state.
The group reported that compromised polling-unit layouts made ballot secrecy impossible, enabling party agents to verify votes before paying.
Adding that inducements ranged from snacks and drinks to direct cash payments.
“What we saw was not sporadic , it was a structured market system of inducement,” It weakens voter autonomy and breeds a transactional democracy”, KDI said.
Furthermore, KDI said that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned effectively in over 96% of polling units, with accreditation taking under two minutes in 72% of locations.
However, 1.59% of polling units experienced BVAS malfunction, with no confirmation of timely replacement.
KDI also commended INEC for uploading 98% of polling-unit results to the IReV portal by midnight ,a development it described as “a major transparency milestone.”
Despite generally professional conduct, KDI criticised security agencies for failing to intervene in vote-trading hotspots due to legal ambiguity.
“Security personnel cannot stop vote-buying unless authorised by the presiding officer. This loophole must be fixed immediately,” the group insisted.
KDI urged INEC to strengthen logistics planning, enforce stricter polling units setups, and conduct comprehensive data audits to eliminate operational loopholes.
It called on security agencies to adopt better deployment strategies, improve coordination, and have clearer enforcement powers during elections.
For the National Assembly, the group demanded urgent amendments to the Electoral Act to grant security personnel explicit authority to stop vote-buying without waiting for presiding officers.
Political parties, it said, must tighten agent training and internal accountability, while civil society must intensify civic education and real-time reporting.
KDI also urged voters, especially young people, to protect ballot secrecy and resist inducement.
