Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party has secured his polling unit in Ede North Local Government Area with 421 votes as sorting and counting continue in the Osun governorship election.
Adeleke recorded the highest tally at Ward 02, Polling Unit 009, Abogunde Compound, where he cast his ballot earlier on Saturday. His supporters celebrated at the voting centre after the result was announced.
The outcome gives the incumbent an early local victory as results from polling units across the state begin to emerge following the close of voting.
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Adeleke had expressed confidence in his chances shortly after voting at the unit. His principal challenger, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji, also voiced optimism after casting his ballot at Ward 09, Unit 011, Ikire, in Irewole Local Government Area.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, meanwhile, raised concerns about the alleged non-recognition of ADC agents in several locations during the exercise.
The early results are being posted as the Independent National Electoral Commission continues the electronic transmission of polling-unit figures through its Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
As of 5:24 p.m. on Saturday, 1,386 of the 3,763 expected polling-unit results had been uploaded to the platform, representing about 36.8 per cent of the total.
The figures at this stage do not indicate the eventual statewide outcome, as results from other polling units are still being collated and transmitted.
The emergence of Adeleke’s 421-vote haul nevertheless provides the first clear indication of how voting unfolded at the incumbent governor’s own polling centre.
Attention is now shifting to the collation of results from other wards and local government areas, where the performances of Adeleke, Oyebamiji, Salaam, and the other candidates will determine the final balance of the election.
INEC is expected to continue receiving polling-unit results as the collation process advances.
