Observers monitoring the November 8, 2025, Anambra governorship election have reported widespread vote-buying, with voters openly accepting cash or digital transfers ranging from N2,000 to N10,000 per vote, sometimes in full view of security personnel and party agents.

Despite these challenges, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Prof. Chukwuma Soludo (APGA) the winner with 422,664 votes, defeating APC’s Nicholas Ukachukwu (99,445 votes) and YPP’s Sir Paul Chukwuma (37,753 votes) among 16 candidates.

Election monitors—including Yiaga Africa, Situation Room, BISIGI Africa, and CDD—commended the peaceful conduct of the polls and the professionalism of security personnel, while raising concerns about the legitimacy risks posed by vote-buying.

Key observations from the reports:

• Vote-buying remains persistent, eroding electoral fairness and undermining democracy.
• Security agents were largely reluctant to curb the practice, even with a heavy presence.
• Voter turnout was low at 21.4%, an improvement from 10.2% in 2021, highlighting ongoing citizen disengagement.
• Logistical challenges persisted, with delays at several polling units and less than half operational at the official start time.
• Digital transparency tools like INEC’s IReV platform performed well, with 97% of polling unit results uploaded within five hours.

Recommendations from observers include:

• Strengthening INEC’s operational capacity and timely logistics.
• Enforcing issue-based campaigns and internal democracy within political parties.
• Enhancing civic education to reduce transactional voting.
• Sustaining security measures beyond election days to protect communities.
• Tackling disinformation proactively to preserve election credibility.

Observers warn that vote-buying fueled by poverty and political culture threatens Nigeria’s democratic integrity and call for reforms ahead of 2026 off-cycle elections and 2027 general elections to ensure elections are free, fair, and inclusive.