The Osun state governorship election results show that only 42.16% of the 1.95 million registered voters in the state voted at the polls on Saturday.
This voter turnout, which is the share of the total votes cast over the total number of registered voters, is a drop from the 45.74% recorded in 2018 and the lowest the state has recorded in its governorship elections since 2003.
On Saturday, July 16th, the people of Osun state went to the polls to choose their next governor. Although there were 15 candidates on the ballot, the election was seen as a 2 horse race because it was mainly between Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the end of the tight contest, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that Adeleke, the candidate of the PDP, had won the election.
Senator Adeleke, popularly known as the ‘dancing senator,’ polled 403,371 votes to defeat Oyetola, the candidate of the APC and the incumbent governor, who polled 375,027 votes.
Four years ago, both candidates went head-to-head with each other, and Oyetola was declared the winner in a controversial contest that ended in a re-run election.
This time, the people of Osun have spoken and given their mandate to Adeleke with a 28,344 vote margin between him and his closest contender, Oyetola.
But the turnout on Saturday was not impressive, especially compared to the last 3 governorship elections. The number of persons who registered to participate in the 2022 election was 1.95 million. But only 1.52 million people collected their Permanent Voter Card (PVC).
Registered voters increased by 16% compared to 2018, while PVC collection saw a 10.7% increase over the 67% collection rate in 2018. Despite these increases, the voter turnout dropped.
In 2003, the number of registered voters in Osun state was 1.37 million. On the election day, 801,812 voted, which translated to a 58.63% voter turnout.
The 2014 and 2018 governorship elections saw increases in registered voters, but voter turnout reduced. The voter turnout dropped from 58.63% in 2003 to 53.14% in 2014, and it dropped even further in 2018.
Unlike 2003 and 2014, which had more than 50% voter turnout, the voter turnout in 2018 was just 45.74%.
Rather than improvement in the level of participation, given the increase in the number of registered voters and, particularly, PVC collections, 2022 voter turnout turned out to be the lowest since 2003. Of the 1.95 million registered voters, only 823,124 voted, less than half of the registered people.
Low voter turnout is increasingly becoming a trend in the off-cycle elections from Anambra in 2021 to Ekiti and now Osun State. Could this be predictive of turnout for the general elections that is just 7 months away?
Clearly, the drive to register more voters is working, registered voter numbers are increasing across all regions of the country, but thus far, this increase has not translated to better voter turnout. Answering the why question can aid in the design of strategies to encourage better voter turnout for the 2023 general elections.