President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2026 into law, officially enacting the Electoral Act 2026 and replacing the Electoral Act 2022. The assent was granted on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, marking a major update to Nigeria’s electoral legal framework less than 15 months before the scheduled 2027 general elections.
The new law consolidates amendments passed by both chambers of the National Assembly in December 2025 and February 2026, following months of legislative debate, public hearings, civil society advocacy, and intense negotiations between the Senate and House of Representatives.
Among the most significant changes are:
Reduction of the mandatory notice period for general elections from 360 days to 300 days. This adjustment, introduced by the Senate during clause-by-clause consideration, was intended to avoid a potential clash between the February 2027 presidential and National Assembly polls and the month of Ramadan, which is projected to fall around late January to late February 2027 depending on moon sighting.
Retention of a proviso in clause 60 allowing both electronic and manual transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV). The final harmonized version permits presiding officers to transmit results electronically where network coverage and technology permit, while allowing manual collation and transmission as a fallback in cases of technical failure, poor connectivity, or other logistical challenges. This represents a compromise between the House’s earlier insistence on compulsory real-time electronic transmission and the Senate’s more flexible position.
Other notable provisions retained or refined in the new Act include:
- Mandatory early commencement of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and voter revalidation exercises.
- Strengthened penalties for vote-buying, ballot-snatching, and result falsification.
- Expanded timelines for political party primaries and submission of candidate lists.
- Clarified guidelines on the use of technology in voter accreditation and result management, while preserving INEC’s discretion to adapt to field realities.
The signing ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and was witnessed by leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly, senior INEC officials, and select members of the National Peace Committee. In brief remarks after the assent, President Tinubu described the new law as “a product of wide consultation and compromise” and expressed confidence that it would strengthen electoral credibility, reduce litigation, and deepen public trust in the democratic process.
The Independent National Electoral Commission is now expected to issue fresh guidelines, training modules, and operational manuals aligned with the Electoral Act 2026 within the next few weeks. INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has already indicated that the commission will convene a stakeholders’ retreat to review the new provisions and update its 2027 election timetable accordingly.
The journey to the new law was marked by sharp divisions, particularly on the transmission clause. Opposition parties, civil society organisations (including Yiaga Africa, Enough is Enough Nigeria, and the Situation Room coalition), and a significant number of lawmakers had campaigned vigorously for compulsory real-time electronic transmission to minimise opportunities for result manipulation. The eventual compromise allowing manual fallback options drew criticism from some quarters, who described it as a “dilution” of transparency gains made in the 2022 Act.
However, supporters of the final version—including many senators and some ruling party members—argued that the provision reflects practical realities: widespread network coverage gaps in rural areas, frequent power outages, and the need to avoid disenfranchisement in remote polling units.
Telecommunications operators, through the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), had earlier affirmed that even 2G networks are sufficient for transmitting the small data packets required for election results, a position that was cited repeatedly during debates.
The Electoral Act 2026 will govern all federal, state, and local government elections scheduled for 2027, including the presidential and National Assembly polls expected on or around February 20, 2027, and governorship and state assembly elections on or around March 6, 2027.
Legal experts and election observers have described the new law as an incremental improvement over the 2022 framework, though many maintain that its ultimate impact will depend on INEC’s implementation fidelity, judicial independence, security agencies’ neutrality, and political actors’ willingness to abide by the rules.
As Nigeria prepares for what promises to be a highly competitive 2027 electoral cycle, the assent to the Electoral Act 2026 represents the conclusion of one phase of reform and the beginning of another focused on enforcement, voter education, and institutional readiness.
