Anambra Election Observation Hub Affirms Credibility of 2025 Governorship Results
A coalition of civil society organisations has affirmed the credibility of the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2025 Anambra governorship election. The coalition, known as the Anambra Election Observation Hub, comprises several key organisations such as Yiaga Africa, the Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHER, and TAF Africa. Their findings were based on a methodology called Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT), which confirmed the integrity of the official results.
The Anambra Election Observation Hub is supported by the European Union under the EU Support for Democratic Governance Project (EU-SDGN). According to a joint statement signed by Asmau Maikudi, chairperson of the 2025 Anambra Election Mission, and Samson Itodo, executive director of Yiaga Africa, the official results reflect the ballots cast at polling units. The group emphasized that if the results had been altered at any level—ward, local government area (LGA), or state collation centres—they would not have aligned with their estimates.
Election Observation and Methodology
Yiaga Africa and its partners deployed 711 citizen observers across the 21 local government areas of Anambra State through its Watching The Vote (WTV) project. Of these, 250 stationary observers were stationed at randomly selected polling units, forming the statistical basis for the PRVT. This methodology, previously known as Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT), allows for independent verification of election results by comparing them against data directly transmitted from a representative sample of polling stations.
The coalition described the election day process as “largely peaceful,” commending voters for their discipline and security agencies for their professionalism and coordination. However, they noted that less than half of polling units were operational at the official start time, highlighting persistent logistical challenges that INEC needs to address.
Condemnation of Vote Buying and Low Voter Turnout
The coalition expressed concern over incidents of vote buying, describing it as a major threat to the credibility of the electoral process. They warned that this practice promotes electoral corruption, erodes equality in election competition, and undermines the legitimacy of electoral victory. The group called on political parties to end the commercialisation of elections and instead invest in practices that enhance public trust.
They also raised alarm over the deepening crisis of low voter turnout, particularly among young Nigerians. According to Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates, voter turnout was between 20.3 per cent and 22.9 per cent, closely aligning with INEC’s official figure of 21.35 per cent. The group found that rejected ballots ranged between 1.6 per cent and 2.2 per cent, corresponding with INEC’s figure of 1.89 per cent.
Verification of Results
The coalition’s statistical analysis, based on reports from 97 per cent (242 of 250) of the sampled polling units, showed that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the ruling party in the state, led the race with between 71.2 per cent and 75.4 per cent of votes, consistent with INEC’s official result of 72.37 per cent. The All Progressives Congress (APC) followed with 17.03 per cent, within the estimated range of 15.1 per cent to 18.5 per cent. Similarly, the Labour Party (LP), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Young Progressives Party (YPP) all had results that fell within the coalition’s projected margins of error.
No other political party received more than 2.3 per cent of the vote share. APGA’s candidate, Charles Soludo, was declared the winner after winning in all 21 local government areas of the state.
Call for Electoral Reforms
While commending INEC for improved poll management and credible collation, the coalition urged the electoral body to sustain reforms that enhance logistical efficiency and public confidence. They reiterated the need for national dialogue on declining civic participation and reforms that would make elections more inclusive, particularly for women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
The statement concluded by reaffirming the coalition’s commitment to promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s elections. “Yiaga Africa and its partners will continue to deploy evidence-based methodologies to safeguard electoral integrity and strengthen democracy,” it said.