KEY POINTS
- Electoral Act Amendment 2026 retains manual collation.
- Tinubu says electronic transmission is supportive.
- Igini warns hybrid model risks credibility.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed the Electoral Act Amendment 2026 into law, stating that electronic transmission of election results will serve as a support mechanism rather than a replacement for manual collation.
The signing, which took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja around 5:00 p.m., came days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the 2027 general elections. Principal officers of the National Assembly attended the ceremony.
Electoral Act Amendment 2026 Retains Hybrid Model
Tinubu said the reforms aim to safeguard democratic stability and prevent voter disenfranchisement, stressing that elections ultimately depend on human management and public trust. “No matter how good a system is, it is managed by people,” the president said, adding that the transmission of manual results remains central to Nigeria’s electoral framework.
The Electoral Act Amendment 2026 followed intense public debate over whether real-time electronic transmission from polling units should be mandatory. Civil society groups had urged lawmakers to require live uploads to INEC’s central server to reduce manipulation.
However, legislators adopted a hybrid approach. Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the law mandates electronic transmission of polling unit results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) but retains the EC8A result sheet as the primary source of collation, particularly in areas with weak telecommunications coverage.
He said the amendment eliminates post-polling unit tampering by allowing Nigerians to compare uploaded results with figures collated at higher levels. The law also provides for fresh elections where a declared winner is later disqualified, rather than awarding victory to a runner-up.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen said the amendment reduces the election notice period from 360 to 300 days, potentially shifting the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections to January.
Igini Criticises Electoral Act Amendment 2026
Former Cross River Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini criticised the Electoral Act Amendment 2026, describing the retention of manual backup as a risk to electoral credibility.
Speaking on Arise Television, Igini blamed judicial interpretations for weakening previous reforms and warned that discretionary network provisions could endanger presiding officers and reintroduce past abuses linked to result collation.
He further argued that regulations INEC issues under constitutional authority carry the force of law and warned against diminishing them. Igini urged the judiciary to uphold electoral integrity, insisting that voters should determine leadership at polling units rather than judges through court rulings.
INEC has scheduled the 2027 general elections for February 20 for the presidential and National Assembly contests, and March 6 for the governorship and state assembly elections.
