EX-INEC OFFICIALS SOUND ALARM ON DEFICIENCIES IN ELECTORAL ACT 2026
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By: Fasasi Hammad
Former senior officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission have warned that inconsistencies in the 2026 Electoral Act regarding electronic transmission of results could undermine electoral integrity if not promptly addressed.
The concerns were raised on Friday in Abuja during a roundtable organised by Yiaga Africa, themed “Electronic Transmission and Electoral Integrity: Safeguarding the Vote under the Electoral Act 2026.”
The discussion comes after President Bola Tinubu signed the amended Electoral Act 2026 into law, prompting the commission to adjust the election timetable. The repeal of the 2022 Act and enactment of the 2026 Act required INEC to review its schedule.
Civil society groups have also criticised the 2026 Act, advocating for real-time transmission of polling unit results to INEC’s central server, arguing this would reduce manipulation and enhance credibility.
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Speakers at the event included former National Commissioner Festus Okoye, former Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini, former ICT Director Engr. Chidi Nwafor, and several civil society leaders.
Okoye, who chaired INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, highlighted drafting inconsistencies in the Act despite the innovative Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). He explained that while the Smart Card Reader was initially used under INEC guidelines, references to it were replaced with BVAS in some sections of the 2026 Act, but not consistently across the legislation.
He warned against embedding specific technologies in law, noting: “Technology evolves rapidly. You cannot keep amending the Act each time there is a new system.” Okoye added that BVAS, capable of voter registration, biometric accreditation, result uploads, and potential electronic voting, has yet to be fully operationalised for complete electronic result transmission.
A key focus was Section 60 of the 2026 Act, which mandates electronic transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) while maintaining Form EC8A, the manually completed sheet, as the official source for collation. Okoye noted the law provides for both manual and electronic transmissions, creating ambiguity that could affect result collation.
Engr. Chidi Nwafor traced Nigeria’s electoral technology evolution from early digital voter registration in 2003 to the introduction of biometric systems under former INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega.
The former officials urged lawmakers to harmonise the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 urgently to eliminate ambiguity and protect the integrity of future elections.
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