NDI supports Yiaga Africa’s Data-Driven Citizen Observation to Boost Confidence in 2025 Governorship Election in Anambra state, Nigeria

A Durable Partnership Strengthened through Continuity and Expertise

Since 2016, NDI has partnered with Yiaga Africa to strengthen the organization’s leadership in nonpartisan observation. For close to a decade, NDI has provided comprehensive technical assistance on statistical, technological, organizational, operational, and financial aspects of the PRVT methodology, allowing Yiaga  to deepen its mastery of it. The objective of these efforts has been to promote credible elections through independent verification of official election results, with the long-term goal of empowering the organization to independently employ the PRVT methodology. NDI long-term support to Yiaga Africa was delivered through targeted training events, guided practice and peer-to-peer training.

In the lead up to the 2025 Anambra governorship election, NDI assisted Yiaga Africa in drawing a statistically representative sample of polling units from all 21 local government areas that reflected the actual distribution of polling units and voters across the state. NDI also supported Yiaga Africa’s team on recruitment and verifying that all observers meet PVRT recruitment criteria, including a heightened sense of professionalism and impartiality that underpin credible election observation.

To ensure the reliability of election-day reporting, NDI worked with Yiaga Africa’s technology unit to audit and optimize the PRVT database by reviewing digital forms and events, cleaning location datasets, validating user roles and responsibilities, and optimizing the SMS-based reporting pipeline that allowed observers to transmit information directly and securely in real time.

This targeted support enabled Yiaga Africa to streamline its workflow, enforce data quality checks, and collate election observation reports from the field, enhancing the organization’s capacity to assess the conduct of the election and verify the official election results as announced by INEC. 

A Broad Coalition for Observation

By midday on election day, the Yiaga Africa-led Election Observation Hub issued a Joint Situational Statement detailing early observations on polling-unit openings, deployment of materials, accreditation and voting processes, and participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities.

PRVT in Action: Turnout and Rapid Verification

Based on systematic reports from sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa estimated turnout between 20.3% and 22.9%. The projection offered the public a credible benchmark while results were still being collated. The official turnout figure (21.4%) as announced by INEC fell squarely within Yiaga Africa’s projected range, and within minutes of INEC’s results announcement, Yiaga issued a verification statement confirming turnout and vote-share for every candidate fell within PRVT margins giving voters, candidates, parties and INEC itself confidence that the results reflected the ballots cast.

This rapid, fact-based verification provided citizens with clarity at a moment when speculation on outcome could have undermined public confidence. By anchoring discussions about the Anambra election in data-driven evidence, Yiaga Africa helped deter false claims, promote calm, and support public trust in the outcome.
 

A Success for Democratic Accountability

Yiaga Africa’s results verification, based on data from sampled polling units, confirmed that the results announced by INEC reflected ballots cast. In a context where mistrust and rumor can undermine electoral processes, its independent confirmation provided a transparent reference point for voters, political parties, he media, and the population as a whole. The PRVT for the Anambra state election served its core purpose by empowering citizens with reliable information to hold electoral actors accountable.

The Anambra experience underscores a clear lesson: credible election verification requires both institutional support and sustained technical expertise. Through its longstanding partnership with Yiaga Africa, NDI helped reinforce a data-driven approach to citizen observation that enhances transparency, deters manipulation, and strengthens public confidence in the democratic process.

NDI is proud to support Yiaga Africa’s leadership and remains committed to partnering with Nigerian civil society as they advocate for electoral reform, defend electoral integrity, expand citizen participation, and deepen accountability in the years ahead.