President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2026 into law, formalising significant reforms to Nigeria’s electoral framework just months ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The signing ceremony took place on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, with principal officers of the National Assembly in attendance. The move came shortly after both chambers passed the amended bill on Tuesday following extensive debates and revisions.
The re-enacted Electoral Act — which effectively updates and replaces the 2022 legislation — is part of ongoing efforts to reform Nigeria’s electoral processes and address long-standing challenges around transparency, result manipulation, and credibility of polls. One of the most contentious provisions resolved in the updated law involves the mode of election results transmission. While electronic transmission remains part of the process, it is not strictly mandatory in real time; instead, the law allows the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine the method by which results are transmitted, including a hybrid of manual and electronic options where network limitations exist.
The House of Representatives and Senate were deeply divided over the electronic transmission clause, with opposition lawmakers staging a walkout during sessions in protest after their push for compulsory real-time uploads from polling units was rejected in favour of a blended approach.
Supporters of the law argue that this flexibility ensures practicality given infrastructure realities — particularly in rural areas where telecommunications networks are unreliable — while still incorporating technology to improve transparency. Critics, especially from opposition ranks, contend that opting out of mandatory live electronic transmission weakens safeguards against result manipulation and could undermine public confidence in the electoral system.
Beyond transmission matters, the amended Act also revises timelines leading up to elections, candidate nomination procedures, and dispute resolution processes — changes that political analysts believe will reshape the operational dynamics of the 2027 presidential, national assembly, governorship, and state house elections.
The swift assent to the bill — just 24 hours after National Assembly passage — has sparked widespread national debate, with figures across the political spectrum offering contrasting views on the implications for Nigeria’s democracy ahead of its next general polls.