It is with great pleasure that I accept the invitation to be here as a presenter in this discussion on the 2026 Electoral Act, as part of the activities for the public presentation of this important book. I commend and congratulate the Author for yet another value addition to our knowledge on the Nigerian Legislature, legislation-making processes and dynamics of Nigerian democratic development.
Introduction
By way of introduction, I wish to begin by reminding us about some of the basics.
- Since 1999, Nigeria has been in transition to democracy within the framework of liberal democracy, otherwise known as representative or electoral democracy.
- Basically, in this type of democratic dispensation, periodic/regularly held elections are perceived as the major pillars. They are indispensable processes for constituting government and governance, because it is through elections that qualified and participating citizens elect and legitimize leadership in the executive, legislative and, in some cases, even in the judicial branches of government (Jega, 2023).
- In the democratic dispensation that we have adopted and are trying to practice, only elected public officials who truly reflect the genuine choices of the electorate and who are responsible and responsive to citizens’ needs and aspirations could catalyse and drive good governance that could also, in particular, ensure the protection and defence of citizens’ rights and objective interests.
- To bring this about requires continuous, concerted efforts to reform the electoral process and improve the integrity of the preparation and conduct of elections, which have a direct correlation with the quality of representation and governance, which are primary requirements for democratic development and consolidation.
- Periodic review, updating, and reforming of the legal framework for elections, especially in countries in transition to democracy, such as Nigeria, are absolute requirements for democratic development and consolidation.
- It is against this background that I review the 2026 Electoral Act and quest for sustainable democracy in Nigeria. In this presentation, I highlighted the evolution of electoral legal frameworks in Nigeria since 1999, briefly stated why the Electoral Act, 2026, was enacted, identified some grey areas in the 2026 Electoral Act, advocated for further and better electoral legislation-making, and made a few recommendations.
Background to the 2026 Electoral Act
- Good constitutional provisions and primary parliamentary legislation are necessary and required as the legal framework for elections in representative/electoral democracies such as Nigeria. In Nigeria, and in a few other electoral jurisdictions, such parliamentary legislation is popularly called an Electoral Act.
- As International-IDEA (2014) has noted, there are three (3) categories of electoral reforms: those that involve constructive changes in the political environment within which an EMB operates; administrative reforms, which focus on changes and improvement related to the day-to-day work of an EMB; and legal/legislative reforms, which involve constructive changes and value additions to the legality and credibility of the processes, procedures, and regulations guiding the mandate of an EMB such as INEC.
- An electoral act is a legal framework enacted by a legislature that regulates the conduct of elections, including voter registration, candidate nomination, campaign procedures, voting processes, vote counting, and the resolution of electoral disputes. It establishes the rules and procedures necessary to ensure that elections are conducted in a fair, transparent, and democratic manner (Norris, 2014).
- The 2026 Electoral Act is supposed to represent value additions to the repealed 2022 Electoral Act, aimed at strengthening transparency, enhancing internal party democracy, enhancing the use of technology in elections, and modernizing electoral administration.
- It is the expectation that, a country that evolves within the liberal democratic tradition would have responsible and responsive elected, representative office holders who would nurture, entrench, and institutionalize values, beliefs, and practices of good governance for their societal progress and development.
- Without doubt, electoral integrity is a foundational element for achieving broader democratic governance and ensuring that citizens have a meaningful role in shaping the political landscape of their countries. And electoral integrity is predicated on a legal framework grounded in the foundational principles of the Rule of Law.
Legislative Frameworks for Elections since 1999
Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to electoral democracy, Nigeria has witnessed seven (7) general elections with the use of legal/legislative frameworks. They are as follows:
- 1999 General Elections: Presidential Election (Basic Constitutional and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 6 of 1999 (Adopted 17/2/99)
- 2003 General Elections: 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2002 No. 4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria
- 2007 General Elections: 1999 Constitution; Electoral Act (Amendment) Act 2003; Electoral Act 2006; and Regulations and Guidance for the Conduct of Elections 2007.
- 2011 General Elections: 1999 Constitution; Electoral Act 2010 (Updated); and INEC Regulations and Guidance for the Conduct of Elections, 2011.
- 2015 General Elections: 1999 Constitution; Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010; and INEC Regulations and Guidance for the Conduct of Elections, 2015.
- 2019 General Elections: 1999 Constitution, Electoral (Amendment) Act No. 2, 2010, and INEC Regulations and Guidance for the Conduct of Elections 2007.
- 2023 General Elections: 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2022 (now repealed); and INEC Regulations and Guidance for the Conduct of Elections, 2023.
- (Forthcoming) 2027 General Elections: 1999 Constitution and 2026 Electoral Act
Why the Electoral Act, 2026?
The 2026 Electoral Act is intended to be another value-added legal framework to regulate the preparations and conduct of the 2027 general elections in Nigeria, and hopefully subsequent general elections, with remarkable integrity.
The Act contains commendable value-additions, which, if appropriately put to good use, would significantly enhance the integrity of Nigerian elections.
Like the repealed 2022 Electoral Act, the 2026 Electoral Act seeks to strengthen internal democracy in political parties, give legal backing to the use of technology in elections, and to protect INEC’s independence.
Some major provisions in the Electoral Act, 2026, are the following:
- Mandatory deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System: Section 47(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, requires explicitly the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter accreditation at all polling units. The BVAS uses fingerprint and facial recognition to verify voter identity electronically against the voter register.
- Electronic Transmission of Results Becomes Mandatory: Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act, 2026, further makes electronic transmission of results compulsory. However, the Act creates room for hybrids. In the sense that if electronic transmission fails, the physical result sheet (EC8A) becomes the primary collation document.
- Changes to Party Primary Methods: The Electoral Act, 2026, recognizes only direct primaries and consensus candidate selection to expand participation of the electorate in the selection process. Specifically, Section 84(2) eliminates indirect primaries, restricting nomination procedures to direct primaries and consensus.
- In addition, Section 86 of the Act complements the above subsection that “all direct primaries shall be conducted in accordance with the guidelines of each political party.”
- New List of Accepted IDs for Voter Registration: Section 10(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, also changes voter registration requirements. The list of accepted IDs is now limited to Birth Certificate, Nigerian Passport, and National Identification Number (NIN), with National ID cards and Driver’s Licenses removed.
- Shorter Timeline for Submission of Candidates: The new Electoral Act in Section 29(1) also shortens political party timelines, requiring parties to submit candidate lists 120 days before elections instead of 180 days.
- Publication of Candidate List: Similarly, the Electoral Act, 2026, in Section 32(1) stated that INEC must now publish the list of candidates 60 days before elections instead of 150 days in the repealed Act.
- Campaign Spending Limit: Section 92 of the Act establishes clear and enforceable limits on campaign spending, prescribing maximum expenditure ceilings for candidates contesting various elective offices. The prescribed limits are as follows:
- Presidential candidates: ₦10,000,000,000 (ten billion Naira)
- Governorship candidates: ₦3,000,000,000 (three billion Naira)
- Senatorial candidates: ₦500,000,000 (five hundred million Naira)
- House of Representatives Candidates: ₦250,000,000 (two hundred and fifty million Naira)
- State House of Assembly candidates: ₦100,000,000 (one hundred million Naira)
- Area Council Chairmanship candidates: ₦100,000,000 (one hundred million Naira)
- Similarly, Section 92(8) of the Electoral Act, 2026, increases the ceiling on individual donations to ₦500,000,000.
- Digital Membership Registers: Section 77(2) (7) of the 2026 Electoral Act mandates every political party to maintain a comprehensive digital register of its members.
- In addition, Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2026, requires that the digital register be submitted to INEC no later than 21 days before any party primaries, congresses, or conventions.
- Section 77(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, introduces a stringent sanction for political parties that fail to comply with the requirement of submitting their digital membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC or the Commission) not later than 21 days before the date fixed for party primaries, congresses, or conventions.
- Removal of Courts’ Jurisdiction in Internal Affairs of Political Parties: Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act, 2026, stated that “no court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party.”
- Limited Grounds for Challenging an Election: Section 138(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, represents a significant limitation/restriction of the grounds upon which an election may be challenged. By limiting the grounds for challenging an election to (a) corrupt practices or non-compliance with the act and (b) the failure of a respondent to secure a majority of lawful votes cast.
Grey/bad provisions in the 2026 Electoral Act
Regardless of the lofty intentions of the 2026 Electoral Act, of adding value to the integrity of Nigerian elections, there are issues of serious concern, and some areas for further contemplation; to offer clarifications, remove ambiguities and strengthen its efficacy. Some of them, which I consider significant, are as follows:
- Section 138(1) of the 2026 Electoral Act excludes qualification as a ground for post-election challenge. The constitutionality of such exclusion, given Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution, is in doubt. Besides, it is a very good provision in the previous Acts, which has been put to good use, and there does not seem to be any rational justification for removing it; unless, of course, if some certificate fraudsters and qualification racketeers would like to have an unrestricted field day.
- Section 83(5) stated that “no court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party.” This is a sweeping generalization, that would need to be moderated, as “internal affairs” of a political party pertain to, or contradict, constitutional provisions, for example, that protect fundamental rights and the Rule of Law. How could Courts be denied the power to entertain these matters?
- Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act, 2026, on electronic transmission of results, which permits a vague hybrid method, in my view, is a grey area that needs sanitising. There is a sense in which if all efforts at digitization and electronic transmission fail, there would be a need to fall back on the paper trail. However, given what we know about the Nigerian environment and the desperation of the ‘do-or-die” politicians, there shouldn’t be such a vague provision, which would be used to truncate electronic transmission, in favour of manual transmission of results, which is easier to fraudulently manipulate or exploit. Besides, there is an undue emphasis on reliance on data on the IReV portal for the final determination of results in case of transmission failure. If this is so, there is a misunderstanding of the fact that IReV transmitted data is for public “Viewing” purposes only. The data to be relied upon in the result declaration should be the back-end result compilation database, which ideally is more secure, not publicly accessible, and less susceptible to fraudulent intrusion.
- The electoral process can be trusted when its laws and processes, including the use of technologies, are adopted and put to use transparently across all levels of elections. Hence, the integrity of the new act and the 2027 general elections matter.
- While speedy legislation making is desirable, it should not be unnecessarily hurried, thereby creating the impression that “there is a hidden agenda! Inputs that would strengthen the legislation, especially by Legislators themselves and other key stakeholders, need to be transparently seen to be accommodated.
- In any case, it is one thing to have a good electoral legal framework, and it is another thing to put it to good use; in the Nigerian context, the devil is usually brazenly in the legal provisions are applied, misapplied, ignored and/or recklessly violated. We have already seen many instances of these.
Recommendations
At it is at all possible and feasible, urgent amendment to the 2026 Electoral Act should be carried out, within the AU/ECOWAS protocols ?, which require all amendments to and reviews of the electoral legal framework to be completed at least 6 months to the general elections, in at least the 3 sections discussed above: Section I38 (1); Section 83(5); and Section 60(3).
Post – 2027 elections, other pertinent reforms to the electoral legal framework (Constitution and the electoral Act), that should be addressed at the earliest opportunity in the next electoral cycle, which are persistent carry-overs from recommendations made by other Panels, such as the Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais ERC, are as follows:
- To strengthen the independence of INEC, the power of appointment of the chairman and national commissioners should be divested from the President, to free the Commission from the damaging negative perception of “he who pays the piper dictates the tune.”
- INEC should be ‘unbundled’; to enable it to focus on preparation and conduct of elections, while other agencies should be entrusted to handle prosecution of electoral offenders, constituency delimitation, registration and regulation of political parties;
- A stringent legal threshold needs to be provided, which political parties must cross, beyond mere registration as a political party, before they can vie and field candidates for, especially, the offices of Governor and President.
- The campaign finance limits are high, entrenching the phenomenon of monetisation of the electoral process. There is a need to reduce these, and in any case, there is also the need for effective oversight to ensure compliance by regulatory and law enforcement bodies for whatever campaign financing limits and thresholds are legally placed.
Conclusion
- Without doubt, electoral reforms play a major role in shaping how citizens view the liberal democratic process and whether they choose to participate in it. Prolonged delay in reviewing/amending and improving the electoral legal framework needs to be avoided; and the commendable effort of initiating legal reforms from one electoral cycle to another needs to be sustained. But reform measures must be products of broad-based consultations, as nationalistic, patriotic and selfless endeavours by legislators, the government in power and key stakeholders, with a clear focus on adding remarkable value to electoral integrity and sustainable participatory democratic development.
- When reforms improve transparency, access, and fairness, they strengthen public trust in democratic institutions and encourage greater voter turnout, civic engagement, and participation as well as accountability of elected officials to the electorate.
- While the National Assembly and all stakeholders involved deserve commendation for ensuring that the 2022 Electoral Act was replaced by the 2026 Electoral Act, within one electoral cycle, some misplaced, whether unintended, are deliberately and selfishly introduced, have tended to undermine the corrective efficacy of the new law. These may need to be looked at and remedied as soon as is possible.
- In a country like Nigeria, building trust through inclusive and well-implemented electoral reforms will be critical to long-term, sustainable, democratic development.
- Ultimately, the Courts have a major responsibility in interpreting electoral legal provisions with integrity, to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process. There are serious, worrisome concerns emanating from the judicial quarters, in this regard, with willful acts by reckless judges/justices, acts of ‘judicial rascality’, which undermine not only electoral integrity and democratic development, but also the integrity of the Courts, and which the NJC needs to swiftly nip in the bud.
- A good legal framework is a necessary condition for electoral integrity and desirable, sustainable democratic development. But it is not a sufficient condition. Other requirements include democratic character, mindset and disposition of the political parties and the politicians that populate them; enlightened and actively participating citizenry; and institutions that discharge their responsibilities effectively, efficiently, and with integrity. It is a good combination of all these that puts a country in transition to democracy on the trajectory for stable, sustainable democratic development.
- Indeed, all hands need to be firmly on deck to ensure a conducive environment for the preparation and conduct of the 2027 general elections with integrity, and improving the prospects of stable, sustainable democratic development in Nigeria.
References
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended in 2018.
Electoral Act, 2026
Federal Republic of Nigeria. (2022). Electoral Act 2022. Government Printer.
Haerpfer, W. C., Bernhagen, P., Welzel, C. & Inglehart, F. R. (2019). Democratization (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
International IDEA (2014). Electoral law reforms in Africa: Insights into the role of EMBs and approaches to engagement. Policy Paper. Stockholm, Sweden: The International IDEA.
Jega, A. M. (2023). Organizing free, fair, inclusive and transparent elections as a necessary and indispensable mechanism for the protection of citizens’ rights and interests by the government. Being a contribution to a Panel Discussion at the ECOWAS 5th Legislative Parliamentary Seminar, on the theme: The Challenges of Unconstitutional Regime Change and Presidential Term Limits in West Africa, Winneba, Ghana. September 30.
Norris, P. (2014). Why electoral integrity matters. Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, K. A., Lindstaedt, N., & Frantz, E. (2019). Democracies & authoritarian regimes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The Electoral Hub (2024). Laws governing elections in Nigeria since 1914. IRIAD Publications.
Prof Attahiru M. Jega, former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), is now at the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano. He delivered this paper recently at the Public Presentation of A Collection of Essays: Readings on the Legislature by Hamalai, Ladi in Abuja
