Nigeria’s National Assembly has detailed the sweeping changes introduced by the Electoral Act 2026, a law that its sponsors say took two full years to build through consultations with election authorities, legal officials, civil society groups and international development partners before President Bola Tinubu signed it within 24 hours of passage.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, speaking through his media office on Sunday, described the new law as a collective effort rather than a parliamentary imposition, pushing back against criticism from civil society organisations who questioned the speed of its enactment and presidential assent.
Among the most consequential changes is a mandate requiring the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit election results electronically and to deploy the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System for voter verification at polling units — provisions that had been flashpoints of controversy in previous electoral cycles. Both requirements are now compulsory, not discretionary.
The law also compels all registered political parties to maintain a digital membership register with INEC, to be used specifically for the conduct of party primaries. The measure is designed to reduce manipulation of delegate lists and internal party elections, which have historically been a source of litigation and post-election disputes.
A dedicated funding structure for INEC is established under Section 3 of the new Act, providing the commission with a ring-fenced budget intended to guarantee financial autonomy and reduce its dependence on executive goodwill for operational resources. Bamidele argued this provision alone would give INEC greater independence and faster corrective capacity in managing elections.
The legislation also raises campaign spending limits for various elective offices, establishes an electronic voters register, and introduces a two-year custodial sentence for any Resident Electoral Commissioner found to have withheld documents critical to election administration — a provision aimed at curbing one of the more opaque pressure points in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Bamidele acknowledged the concerns raised by civil society but maintained that their input had been incorporated throughout the drafting process. “The National Assembly worked with the OAGF, CSOs, INEC and our development partners before we eventually completed the process,” he said. “Its outcome is not a unilateral effort of the parliament, but of Nigerians at large.”
The urgency behind the final passage was partly constitutional. Both chambers had reconciled differences in their respective versions of the bill — particularly around Clause 60(3) — before transmitting it to the presidency, with lawmakers citing the need to avoid any legal uncertainty in preparations for the 2027 general elections.
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