By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
NIGERIA’s NATIONAL Assembly has suggested shifting the country’s next general elections to November 2026, six months earlier than the usual February or March schedule.
The proposal forms part of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, which was unveiled during a joint public hearing of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
The bill seeks to repeal the 2022 Electoral Act and enact a new version aimed at strengthening electoral transparency, ensuring timely dispute resolution, and improving the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process.
According to the proposed amendment, elections into the offices of the President and State Governors “shall be held not later than 185 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office.”
By this calculation, 185 days before May 29, 2027, the date for the next handover of power, falls in November 2026.
Similarly, section 4 (5) of the proposed amendment provides that elections into the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly “shall be held not later than 185 days before the date on which each of the houses stands dissolved.”
The joint committee explained that the proposed adjustment would ensure all election litigations are concluded before the May 29, 2027, handover date.
“The above provisions are to ensure that all litigations are concluded before swearing in,” the document stated.
To remove constitutional barriers to this change, the committee noted that “section 28, now section 27 (5–7), was introduced due to amendments to sections 76, 116, 132 and 178 of the constitution, which seek to remove the determination of election timelines from the constitution to the electoral act.”
At the hearing, several stakeholders, including civil society representatives and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), supported the proposal.
They also called for the introduction of electronic voting and full electronic transmission of election results to strengthen transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
Lawmakers at the session, however, stressed that while the proposed date change would help prevent post-election crises, judicial capacity must be enhanced to ensure faster adjudication of election disputes.
“In a situation where a rerun is ordered by the Supreme Court at the end of 185 days, can we have vacancy in the office of the President?” the joint committee queried, calling for reforms to enable the judiciary to cope with the expected volume of electoral cases.
If enacted, the proposal will move presidential and governorship polls to November 2026 — roughly six months before the current administration’s term expires.
The change aims to give sufficient time for election petitions to be resolved before new officeholders are sworn in.
Other significant reforms in the draft bill include inmate voting, early diaspora voting, mandatory electronic transmission of results, and the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for voter registration.
One of the major innovations concerns voter identification. The draft provides that “the use of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) will not be compulsory, since the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) does not recognise the microchip in the PVC.”
It further states that every registered voter will be able to “download and print his voter’s card whenever the need arises.”
Lawmakers said the measure would eliminate voter card trafficking and make verification entirely digital.
The amendment “reflects adjustments in Sections 18 and 47, and the deletion of Section 22 of the existing Act,” the draft noted.
The bill also compels political parties to submit the list of candidates they intend to sponsor “not later than 210 days before the date appointed for a general election,” and specifies that only candidates who emerge from validly conducted primaries will be recognised.
Additionally, subsection five empowers “any other candidate of any other party” to challenge the nomination process of rival political parties, while restricting the jurisdiction of pre-election matters to the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory or to the location where the cause of action arose.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, said the reforms are designed to reduce post-election legal delays and ensure that all petitions are concluded before the swearing-in of winners.
“To ensure that all manner of election litigation is dispensed with before the swearing-in of winners, we are proposing an amendment that will reduce 180 days of tribunal judgement to 90 days,” he explained.
He added that “ninety days are expected for judgement by the appellate court, up to sixty days up to the Supreme Court, which will all not exceed 185 days.” Balogun said sections 285 and 139 of the 1999 Constitution will also be amended to align with the proposed changes.
The amendment further provides for early voting, stating that “there shall be a date set aside for early voting not later than fourteen days before the day of the election.”
Eligible categories include security personnel, electoral commission officials, accredited observers, journalists, and ad hoc staff.
The proposed section 60 (5) also mandates that “the presiding officer shall transmit the results, including the total number of accredited voters, to the next level of collation both electronically and manually.”
It prescribes penalties for non-compliance, including one-year imprisonment or a fine of one million naira, or both.
Lawmakers said these reforms will consolidate Nigeria’s democratic progress and provide a legal framework that enhances efficiency, inclusivity, and integrity in the nation’s electoral system.
For the amendment to take effect, both chambers of the National Assembly must pass the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, after which it will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Once signed into law, the Independent National Electoral Commission will adjust its election timetable accordingly.
