A coalition of leading civil society organisations have criticised the newly signed Electoral Act 2026, describing it as a missed opportunity to deliver the far-reaching electoral reforms required to strengthen public trust ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The CSOs said the manner in which the National Assembly processed the bill raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability, and that the last-minute amendments were reportedly inserted into the harmonised version of the bill without publication or scrutiny before adoption by both chambers.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had, Wednesday evening, 2026 into law, making it a legal document for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
But the CSOs say his consent was hasty and almost premeditated, insisting that the law contains significant flaws that will undermine electoral integrity, entrench incumbency advantage and exclude millions of Nigerians from meaningful political participation.
The civil society groups raised these concerns at a joint press briefing by the Centre for Media and Society, The Kukah Centre, the International Press Centre, IPC, ElectHer, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa and Yiaga Africa.
In a communique read by Jake Epelle, the TAF Africa President on behalf of the Coalition, the CSOs noted that the Act preserves important provisions from the 2022 framework but leaves some loopholes unaddressed and introduced new barriers to political participation.
The CSOs said they had staged protests and engagements between the bill’s passage and presidential assent, urging retention of safeguards such as real-time electronic transmission of results, downloadable voter cards and established electoral timelines but were totally ignored.
They argued that the President’s decision to sign the bill despite those concerns, signals a preference for political expediency over electoral integrity and could weaken public confidence in elections.
The CSOs lamented that their asks at those engagements were not partisan but demands grounded in legal precedent, technical feasibility, and the imperative to protect electoral credibility ahead of 2027.
The communique partly read, We register our profound concern about the process through which the Electoral Bill was passed between the third reading and adoption of the harmonized version of the bill.
“We cannot ignore the deeply troubling manner in which the legislation was processed and passed. The speed and opacity raise serious concerns about legislative transparency and the commitment of lawmakers to genuine electoral reform.
“At a time when public confidence in elections remains fragile, this law should have decisively strengthened transparency, eliminated ambiguities and deepened safeguards against manipulation. Instead, it creates more vulnerabilities in the electoral process.”
The CSOs also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to urgently publish a revised timetable for the 2027 elections, issue clear regulations under the new law, and conduct a nationwide simulation of electronic results transmission across all polling units in line with the new 300-day notice requirement under the Electoral Act 2026.
They tasked political parties to publicly commit to supporting the electronic transmission of results and urged the National Assembly to immediately publish the signed version of the Act for public consumption, noting that electoral timelines are essential for political parties, candidates, civil society, security agencies, and voters to prepare adequately.
“INEC must immediately issue clear and detailed regulations addressing:The definition and threshold for IReV “communication failure,” including transparent verification procedures; Standards for monitoring, observing, and certifying political party primaries; Disability-inclusive voter registration procedures, ensuring full compliance with constitutional guarantees of equality and inclusion. Regulatory ambiguity at this stage will only invite disputes and litigation later.
“INEC should organise a national simulation exercise of IReV electronic transmission across all 176,866 polling units, with independent observers present.
“The Commission must publish a comprehensive technical report detailing: Success and failure rates; Geographical distribution of connectivity gaps; identified vulnerabilities; and Concrete remediation plans ahead of 2027,” Ekpelle stated.
Meanwhile, Akin Rotimi, the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, who made a guest appearance at the press briefing, defended the actions of the legislature in reaction to the issues raised by the coalition over the hasty passage.
Rotimi insisted that due process for amending the law was followed by both chambers, in accordance with existing rules for the committee, hence the quick passage and forwarding to the presidency for assent.
He claimed that the 2026 proceeding is the first time in Nigeria’s history that a genuine amendment was introduced to the electoral act, noting that the protest staged by civil societies and some lawmakers, who staged a walkout after disagreeing with the amendment, was a normal occurrence in a legislative process and should not be misconstrued as negative.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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