The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that the number of voters who participated in the Saturday Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was higher than the one recorded in the 2022 exercise.
INEC’s Ag. Director, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), Wilfred Ifogah, who disclosed this in a statement, said while the Commission remains concerned about voter apathy, it notes a significant improvement compared to the previous election.
Noting that in the 2022 AreaCouncil election, a total of 148,685 voters were recorded, representing 9.4% ofregistered voters. While in the current election, over 239,210 voters voted, representing approximately 15% of the 1,680,315 total registered voters in the FCT.
The electoral umpire conducted elections on Saturday, 21st February 2026, for the positions of Chairman in the six Area Councils of the FCT, as well as for 62 Councillorship seats.
The results of the election were announced late Saturday except that of Kuje Area Council which was announced at 3:30pm on Sunday 22nd February 2026.
INEC explained that the delay inthe results of Kuje Area Council was due to the difficult terrain of Kabi ward, which delayed the final collation of the Area Council results.
The Commission appreciated theresidents of the FCT for their peaceful conduct and cooperation throughout theelectoral process.
The INEC while affirming that 45% of polling units opened for voting as at 8:30am, and all polling units were confirmed open by 10:00am on Election Day, however, noted challengesencountered by some voters in locating their designated polling units.
It said contrary to the claim insome quarters that some voters were migrated to another/ new polling units different from their original polling units, voters were not migrated, explaining that what it did was to create split polling units in large polling units withvoters registration of over 1,250 voters to avoid congestion on election day.
The split units, according to the statement, were located some few meters away from the original polling unitswithin the same premises.
“The public will recall that the Commission displayed the Register of Voters at designated centres/split polling units four days to the Area Council elections to enable voters confirm theirdetails and polling unit locations.
“Text messages/emails were sentto the affected voters on Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th and Saturday 21st February 2026 indicating the actual locations of their split polling units, were intended solely as reminders to assist them in identifying their current polling units,” the statement added.
The Commission said it informed the public that as at 2:00pm on Sunday, 22nd February 2026, the upload of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal had reached 93%. Saying that the residents of the FCT and other interested members of the public could access results from the six Area Councils via the portal.
“The Commission appreciates the electorate in the FCT for their cooperation and participation through out the process. The participation recorded across the six Area Councils is indicative of citizens’ continued trust in building democracy and the electoral system,” the statement concluded.
