My election observation experience in Awka South, by student observer, Bernice Chukwujekwu

The moment that stood out to me the most during this election occurred early on Saturday morning. I had just finished observing the setup at one polling unit when a voter with a physical disability approached me. He told me with relief and genuine gratitude that it was the first time voting wasn’t stressful for him. 

The presiding officers had prioritised him, and the process was smooth. That short encounter reminded me why election observation is necessary, and it happened during my coverage of the 2026 Anambra State Governorship Election in Awka South LGA.

My name is Chukwujekwu Chiemerie Bernice, and I served as an accredited observer for this election. Being in the field allowed me to watch the entire process closely from pre-election preparations to the deployment of materials, the voting process, and the LGA collation stage.

I received confirmation to observe the election in advance, and I prepared by attending the required training offered by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID). 

The training helped me to understand my role as an observer, how to document events objectively, the importance of non-interference, and proper reporting guidelines. It also provided clarity on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) operations, voter accreditation steps, and material distribution processes.

Two major motivations pushed me to take on this role, one was to understand elections beyond social media narratives by seeing the real challenges and efforts involved and secondly so as to be able to to contribute to strengthening transparency and accountability, especially in my state, and play a small part in promoting credible elections.

My observation began on Friday, a day before the election, at the INEC office in Awka South. Security personnel were distributing identification tags, and buses were moving ad-hoc staff and materials to their various RACs.

However, there were early signs of logistical challenges: some corps members (who served as presiding officers for the election) complained about not seeing their names on the deployment list, some others could not find their Superintendent Presiding Officers (SPOs) or said their materials had not arrived. The phone numbers of some other election officials were switched off.

When I contacted Registration Area Centre (RAC) managers later that night, I confirmed that Umuawulu, Okpuno, Amawbia I & II, and Agu-Oka had received their materials. 

Meanwhile, RAC managers for Nise 1 & 2, Awka VII, Amawbia I, and Ezinato/Isiagu either didn’t pick up or were unavailable.

Despite these issues, the atmosphere remained calm.

On Saturday, security officers were already on the ground as buses conveyed presiding officers, ad-hoc staff, and election materials to different polling units. Some staff complained about not receiving feeding money from their SPOs since the previous day, especially at PU 349, where hunger was a major concern.

Across various polling units, the POs followed the procedure, posted the list of registered voters, displayed empty ballot boxes and showed BVAS readings with “0” accreditation. Also, priority was consistently given to persons with disabilities PWDs, elderly voters, and nursing mothers. I observed vote buying in multiple locations, at PU 019 and at PU 010 (Esther Obiakor Estate), where an APC agent was writing down the names of voters who allegedly received money.

A man also approached me directly, asking if I worked with one of the political parties because he wanted to “collect my share.” This illustrates the prevalence of vote trading during the election.

Voter turnout varied significantly. PU 017 in Awka South LGA, which I covered, had only 21 accredited voters out of 93 registered at the time of my visit. Some units reported no security personnel early in the day, though the environment remained peaceful. And at Aroma Junction, I observed officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security agencies patrolling to discourage malpractice.

In the evening, I arrived at the local government Collation Centre. Collation had started before I arrived, and I was directed to the conference hall by the Electoral Officer. They were still waiting for results from some wards, but the process was orderly and transparent.

In conclusion, covering the election was important for me as a young Nigerian. It gave me firsthand insight into the amount of work and coordination that goes into ensuring citizens can cast their votes. It also exposed the recurring issues that weaken our electoral process. 

My key takeaways include, INEC’s logistical system still faces delays, especially in material distribution and communication between officers, welfare of ad-hoc staff significantly affects performance and can cause tension or inefficiency. I had a one-on-one conversation with a PO, during which he bitterly complained about not being paid, which has made him regret taking on the job.

Meanwhile, vote buying remains one of the biggest threats to credible elections and is carried out openly in some areas and if I had the power to adjust the process, I would strengthen the logistics and early distribution of materials. I would also improve welfare provisions for ad-hoc staff, intensify enforcement against vote buying and ensure every polling unit has security from the start of the process.

This observation showed me that while progress has been made, Nigeria still needs stronger systems to fully secure the credibility of elections.