From David Onuoja, Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has signed the Electoral Act (Amendment) 2025/2026 bill into law, making some articles in the 2025/2026 Act different from what is entails in the 2022 Bill.
This is after the passage of the bill by both Chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday, to give Nigerians a new electoral act in the Country most especially as 2027 general elections is around the corner.
The bill was signed into law, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja at about 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening, and witnessed by the presence of Principal Officers of the National Assembly.
The rushing may not have anything to do with the new development, which follows the recent announcement of the 2027 election scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Electronic Transmission debate, featured the amendment, a subject that has generated intense national debate.
In recent weeks, civil society groups and opposition staged protests at the National Assembly, calling for mandatory real-time transmission of election results directly from polling units to INEC’s central database.
Some critics argued that compulsory live transmission would reduce manipulation and enhance transparency, thereby boosting public trust in the electoral process.
However, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other stakeholders have expressed concerns about network challenges in remote communities. They advocated a more flexible system that allows for manual collation where electronic transmission may not be feasible.
The debate also revived memories of the 2023 general elections, where technical issues were fingered according to INEC’s Results Viewing Portal glitches in the case of Presidential election that sparked allegations of irregularities.
It could be recalled that, 2027 Election timetable has already been released by INEC, which says, Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for February 20, 2027, while Governorship and State Assemblies election will take place on March 6, 2027.
