President Bola Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) into law, reigniting fierce debate over the electronic transmission of election results just days after the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), unveiled the timetable for next year’s general elections.
The signing ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and was attended by senior National Assembly officials.
The bill had recently been passed by both chambers of the National Assembly amid fierce debate over the electronic transmission of election results.
Campaigners and opposition voices had also demanded real-time upload of results from polling units to INEC’s central server, insisting it would thwart manipulation and bolster public trust.
Last week, protesters stormed the National Assembly complex, decrying the collapse of INEC’s Results Viewing Portal during the 2023 polls—a fiasco that fuelled rigging claims.
While the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) backs technological upgrades, critics including some lawmakers warn that Nigeria’s patchy telecoms infrastructure demands a hybrid model, blending electronic and manual collation to avoid chaos in remote areas.
The 2027 elections are slated for 20 February (presidential and National Assembly) and 6 March (governorship and state assembly).
