Ekiti Election 2026: Vote Buying Tactics Change as Agents Use Numbered Slips

Some voters in the Ekiti State governorship election are reportedly selling their votes at polling units.

In Emure-Ekiti and Ose-Ekiti Local Government Areas, PREMIUM TIMES saw signs of vote-buying at different polling units.

Party agents were spotted asking voters to show their marked ballot papers to prove their voting choice. Instead of giving cash directly, some agents handed out numbers to voters after they cast their votes.

The reason for the numbers was not confirmed by our reporters. Still, this practice happened multiple times at various polling units, with voters getting numbers after showing their ballot papers to party agents.

Election observers have noted that using coded numbers, tokens, and other verification methods is common in vote-buying. This helps avoid the open cash exchange at polling places.

Security personnel and election officials were at the polling units when these observations were made.