Osun INEC Seeks Media Partnership as 2027 Election Timetable Hits Key Milestones

The Independent National Electoral Commission in Osun State has called for sustained collaboration with the media to ensure accurate and unbiased information dissemination ahead of the 2027 general elections, even as the commission confirmed that it has completed nine of the fourteen activities on its election timetable.

Addressing a press conference in Osogbo on Monday, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, urged journalists to support the commission’s voter education and public enlightenment programmes while maintaining responsible reporting.

She reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to “continuous improvement, transparency, accountability, and the delivery of credible elections”.

Babalola disclosed that the official register of voters would be published on December 15, with the notice of poll to follow on December 29.

Campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections will end on January 14, while those for the State House of Assembly will close on February 4.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the State House of Assembly election will hold on February 6.

On voter card distribution, the REC revealed that 1,903,390 permanent voter cards had been distributed before the recent governorship election, representing 81.5 percent of available cards, while 457,260 remained uncollected.

Following the resumption of distribution on October 9, an additional 7,547 cards were distributed, bringing the figure to 81.74 percent.

Babalola assured that the commission has sufficient Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines for the 3,763 polling units in Osun State, with 38 additional units and 1,328 backup machines available.

She noted that the technology would be used for voter authentication, accreditation, and uploading polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing portal.

Regarding security preparations, the REC said INEC had conducted a ground-truthing exercise across all 30 local government areas to identify security flashpoints, with the coordinates shared with security agencies for preventive measures. She also revealed that Osun has 98 Super Registration Area Centres and 97 Registration Area Centres designated for camping electoral personnel.

The REC emphasized that recruitment of ad hoc staff had commenced through the INEC Press Portal, with the process prioritizing “competence, neutrality, integrity and professionalism”.

She further disclosed that the media accreditation portal was activated on October 30 and would remain open until December 1, urging media organisations to complete their registration before the deadline.