Former INEC chiefs flag contradictions in Electoral Act 2026

Former top officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have raised red flags over what they describe as conflicting clauses in the Electoral Act 2026, warning that unresolved ambiguities around electronic transmission of results could weaken the credibility of future elections.

The concerns were voiced on Friday in Abuja during a policy roundtable convened by Yiaga Africa. The event, themed “Electronic Transmission and Electoral Integrity: Safeguarding the Vote under the Electoral Act 2026,” brought together electoral experts and civil society actors to examine the implications of the newly amended law.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently assented to the amended Electoral Act 2026, leading INEC to revise its election timetable. The commission explained that the repeal of the 2022 legislation and the coming into force of the 2026 Act required adjustments to its schedule.

However, several civil society organisations have criticised aspects of the new law, pushing for mandatory real-time transmission of polling unit results directly to INEC’s central server to curb manipulation and bolster transparency.

Among those who spoke at the forum were former INEC National Commissioner Festus Okoye; former Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini; former ICT Director, Engr. Chidi Nwafor; and other civic leaders.

Okoye, who previously chaired INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, acknowledged that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System represents a significant technological advancement but warned that drafting inconsistencies in the 2026 Act could complicate its implementation.

He recalled that the Smart Card Reader was initially introduced through INEC regulations before it was formally recognised in the Electoral Act via the 2022 amendment. According to him, while the National Assembly substituted references to the Smart Card Reader with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in parts of the 2026 Act, the change was not applied consistently throughout the legislation.

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“Where BVAS appears in the principal section, Smart Card Reader is still retained in other parts of the Act. The National Assembly needs to clean up the drafting to avoid ambiguity.

“Don’t write a particular technology into the law. Allow the electoral body discretion to adopt appropriate technology at any given time. Each time technology changes, you cannot keep amending the Act,” he said.

Okoye explained that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System was conceived as a multi-purpose platform capable of handling voter registration, biometric accreditation, result uploads and even future electronic voting, should it be activated.

He noted, however, that although the device is technically capable of full electronic transmission of results, that feature has yet to be comprehensively deployed.

A focal point of the discussion was Section 60 of the 2026 Act, which requires electronic transmission of polling unit results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV), but also stipulates that Form EC8A — the manually completed result sheet — remains the primary basis for collation and declaration.

Okoye said a close reading of Sections 60 and 65 indicates the existence of two separate transmissions: one to IReV for public access and another to the collation system. He also referenced Section 155, which defines “transmit” as sending either manually or electronically, suggesting that the law accommodates both options.

While acknowledging that the Supreme Court has characterised IReV as merely a viewing portal, Okoye argued that electronic transmission to the collation system should carry significant weight if the law is interpreted strategically.

“I am not factoring IReV into the equation of collation because the Supreme Court has defined it as a viewing portal. But the law also provides for transmission to the next level of collation, and we must interrogate that carefully,” he said.

Nwafor, in his remarks, traced Nigeria’s journey in electoral technology back to the digitised voter registration initiatives of 2003 and the subsequent adoption of biometric systems during the tenure of former INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega.

The former officials concluded by urging lawmakers to urgently harmonise the provisions of the 2026 Act to eliminate inconsistencies and prevent legal disputes that could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.

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