The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke the winner of the 2026 governorship election, securing another four-year term in office.
Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest rival, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who received 444,815 votes. African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.
The INEC Returning Officer, Professor Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, announced the final results in Osogbo on Sunday after the completion of collation from all 30 Local Government Areas.
INEC said 2,339,544 voters were registered for the election, while 1,010,684 were accredited. Of the 1,005,800 votes cast, 985,079 were declared valid and 20,721 were rejected.
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Adeleke won in 19 Local Government Areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in 11. Salaam failed to win any Local Government Area.
Adeleke recorded victories in Ife Central, Orolu, Boluwaduro, Ede South, Ife North, Ilesa West, Ifedayo, Osogbo, Oriade, Odo-Otin, Ife East, Ifelodun, Iwo, Ede North, Ila, Ayedire, Egbedore, Ayedaade and Ejigbo.
Oyebamiji won in Irepodun, Boripe, Obokun, Ilesa East, Irewole, Atakumosa West, Atakumosa East, Isokan, Ola-Oluwa, Ife South and Olorunda.
The election was conducted across 332 Registration Areas and 3,763 Polling Units in the state, with 15 political parties fielding candidates.
The poll attracted the participation of electoral officials, political parties, security agencies, observers and the media, particularly as the final off-cycle governorship election before the 2027 general elections.
Ahead of the election, INEC reported that 1,906,390 Permanent Voter Cards had been collected, representing 81.50 per cent of the 2,339,233 voters registered at the time.
The state also recorded the highest number of new registrations during the last Continuous Voter Registration exercise, with 208,357 new voters.
Reacting to the result, Accord Party agent Pelumi Olajengbesi thanked President Bola Tinubu for providing what he described as a level playing field and commended INEC for its conduct of the election.
He also thanked voters for re-electing Adeleke for a second term.
