Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord Party has opened an early lead in some of the polling-unit results uploaded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Saturday’s Osun governorship election.

As of about 4:30pm on Saturday, INEC had uploaded 903 of the 3,763 expected polling-unit results to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), representing about 24 per cent of the results expected across the state.

The emerging figures show Adeleke’s party making an early statement, particularly in Osogbo, where results from two polling units reviewed showed the Accord Party ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

At Ward 4, Unit 39, Osogbo Local Government Area, Accord secured 65 votes, while the APC polled 43. The ADC recorded two votes, while ZLP, AA and AAC each scored one vote.

Another result from Ward 4, Unit 13, also in Osogbo, further tilted in favour of the Accord Party, which scored 134 votes against 75 votes for the APC. The ADC polled four votes, while ADP, AAC and APGA recorded one vote each.

The figures have placed Adeleke ahead in the early results emerging from the available uploads, although the lead cannot yet be treated as an indication of the final statewide outcome.

The race remains open, with thousands of polling-unit results still to be uploaded, verified and collated through the official INEC process.

The emerging results are nevertheless significant because they provide the first concrete picture of how the three leading contenders — Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam — are performing in areas where results have been made available.

The early advantage for Adeleke comes after a tense election day marked by complaints over delays in the electronic transmission of results, alleged incidents of intimidation and vote-buying, as well as isolated reports of violence.

Adeleke had earlier expressed confidence in victory after casting his vote, while Oyebamiji also declared that he expected to win the contest. Salaam, meanwhile, raised concerns over the alleged non-recognition of some ADC agents and later reported an attack at his polling unit in Ejigbo.