The national debate over the Electoral Act 2026, recently signed into law, continued on Sunday, with Nigerians expressing divergent views over the new legislation that will serve as a legal guide for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

The issues identified in the new law took centre stage during a Citizens’ Townhall, an event broadcast live on Channels Television.

The programme, themed “Electoral Act 2026: What it means for your vote and the 2027 elections?”, provided a platform for Nigerians to ask critical questions about the thorny issues in the new Act, including the contentious debate over electronic result transmission.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, used the forum to address the technical concerns facing the Commission.

A combo of Amupitan and the event

Identifying network inadequacy as a primary challenge, he emphasised that the quality of an election is inherently linked to logistical capacity.

“I don’t see the issue of transmission as a problem; the problem is not the network but the adequacy of the networks we have,” he said.

While acknowledging that Nigeria might not achieve “100 per cent perfect elections for now,” Amupitan assured the public that the Commission is striving to deliver the best possible outcome.

He further declared that technical glitches would not derail the 2027 polls.

“The glitch is eliminated; by God’s grace, it will not surface in Nigeria,” he added.

To bolster this confidence, he disclosed that INEC would conduct a mock presidential election to stress-test the transmission architecture.

“One of the things we are trying to do before the election is to have a mock presidential election so that we are sure that this transmission across the states must not fail,” Amupitan added.

Yiaga Faults NASS

However, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, remained critical of the National Assembly’s decision to make manual transmission an option.

He argued that electronic transmission must be the sole, real-time method for results to ensure credibility.

Samson Itodo

Itodo further warned that the recently announced compressed election timetable places immense pressure on the Commission.

“And as we approach 2027, the credibility of that election will not just be determined on election day. It will be determined by a few things: the quality of preparations, the transparency of resource management, the professionalism of election officials, how political actors restrain themselves, but more importantly, the independence and the integrity of our security agencies and the judiciary.

“And lastly, the vigilance of citizens is what will determine the credibility of the next elections, because democracy is not self-executing. It requires guardians, and the citizens of this great country are the guardians that we need.”

‘Gaps, Loopholes’

Former INEC National Commissioner, Okechukwu Ibeanu, reinforced the need for systemic commitment over legislative tinkering.

“I think there are still gaps and loopholes in the law, and it’s unfortunate that it took us debating about a proviso for the country to come to a consensus that electronic transmission was actually in the 2022 act.

“But what we have done is actually to take us far back to 2018… We consistently tinker with the electoral legal framework as if that holds all the answers to our electoral problems,” Ibeanu cautioned.

He urged citizens to remain the ultimate watchdogs.

“Citizens, this is about you. It is not about politicians; it is not about INEC. Except citizens are in a position to protect their votes and control those who ostensibly represent them, our dream of a truly democratic country will remain an illusion,” he added.

Chidi Nwafor, who is a former director of information and communication technology at INEC, said security agencies and the judiciary play a crucial role in maintaining the sanctity of elections in Nigeria.

He also urged INEC to assess sections 50 and 70 of the Electoral Act.

Lawmakers Disagree

The chairman of the bipartisan conference committee on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill to harmonise differences between versions passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, Adebayo Balogun, stated that Form EC8A remains the primary source of collation of results.

But the member representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, Senator Victor Umeh, described the INEC Result Viewing portal, IREV, as the game-changer.

He noted that the inclusion of a proviso that allows the presiding officer to use the Form EC8A remains a challenge, adding that the electronic transmission of the Form EC8A to the IREV was to forestall manipulation.

Similarly, a former Director of Voter Education at INEC, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said the Electoral Act has taken Nigeria back with the proviso on manual collation when the network fails.

“Who is the judge when there is a network failure? Is it the electoral officer?” he queried.

For the Head of ICT at the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Oluwadara Oluwalana, Nigeria has the capacity to try out technology in the 2027 polls, with the collaboration of operators.

“Yes, I believe telecom operators can come together and make it work. I think we have the capacity now,” he submitted during the panel discussion.

‘Defections To APC Fair’

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, said the Electoral Act did not confer any advantage to the ruling party.

Citizens’ Townhall over the 2026 Electoral Act held in Abuja on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Photo: Taiwo Adesina/Channels TV

Asked whether it was fair that the APC allowed politicians who won elections on the platform of opposition parties to defect to the ruling party, Yilwatda said, “Very fair, very fair because you will discover that many of those political parties are already dying.

“They saw a reason to join us because of how we operate as a party—from party management to organization and mobilization,” Yilwatda said at the event.

“APC seems to be the best party in terms of mobilization, organization, and governance. That provides a leeway for competition. When I go to the market, I have a choice to make: a choice between good governance, good party management, and a transparent system,” he added.

However, a chieftain of the African Democratic Party, Sam Amadi, said the submission of the INEC chairman it the commission’s preparedness for the general elections does not inspire confidence.

Among those who attended the event are serving and former members of the National Assembly, representatives of security agencies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders in the electoral process.

A former Country Director of ActionAid, Ene Obi, faulted the campaign spending guideline set out in the Act, expressing worry over how this can prevent Nigerians with less financial capacity to vie for public offices.

“Another thing to look out for is the source of whatever money they are talking about,” she added.

New Law

Nigeria recently updated its electoral system after President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act 2026 into law on February 18, 2026, after weeks of heated debate, replacing the 2022 legislation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Key provisions of the new law include the mandatory electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, recognition of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), new timelines for election notices and candidate nominations, revised methods for party primaries, and earlier release of funding for the electoral commission.

While Tinubu explained that the amendment aims to strengthen transparency, opposition parties and civil society organisations slammed aspects of the law, arguing that certain discretionary powers granted to electoral officials during technical failures could affect the credibility of the election.

The Commission had earlier fixed Saturday, February 20, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections and Saturday, March 6, 2027, for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.

Following the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026, the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while the governorship and state houses of assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027. (Channels TV)

•Citizens’ Townhall over the 2026 Electoral Act held in Abuja on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Photo: Taiwo Adesina/Channels TV