Nigeria, Aug. 18 -- The 2026 Osun governorship election produced a striking electoral paradox: more voters came to the polls, both leading candidates increased their parties' vote totals, yet the gap between the leading candidates, Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party and Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) widened dramatically.

A comparative analysis by the Athena Election Observatory (AEO) shows that Mr Adeleke's winning margin increased from 28,344 votes in the 2022 election to 66,252 votes in 2026, a 133.7 per cent increase.

The figures are contained in AEO's comparative assessment of the August 15 election, based on the final results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The obs...