Electoral & Democracy

Electoral Act 2026 (Repeal and Re-Enactment)

Repeals and re-enacts the Electoral Act 2022 ahead of the 2027 general election — most controversially, it makes electronic transmission of results OPTIONAL (at INEC's discretion) and retains the manual Form EC8A as the primary legal record.

Signed
2026-02-18
Status
In force

1 Background

Formally the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026, this law was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and signed by President Tinubu on 18 February 2026 — barely 24 hours after passage. It re-enacts the 2022 framework with amendments ahead of the 20 February 2027 presidential/NASS and 6 March 2027 governorship/state polls. Its most contested change downgrades electronic transmission of polling-unit results from a firm requirement to an option at INEC's discretion, keeping the manually collated Form EC8A as the primary legal record — a shift critics say weakens the transparency gains associated with BVAS and the IReV portal. It also introduces flexibility around the election-notice timeline (including avoiding scheduling votes during Ramadan) and technical corrections to the 2022 Act.

2 Key provisions (4)

01
Electronic transmission of results made OPTIONAL — at INEC's discretion — rather than mandatory
02
Form EC8A (manual polling-unit result sheet) retained as the primary legal record
03
Flexibility introduced around the election-notice timeline; avoids scheduling votes during Ramadan
04
Technical corrections to cross-referencing and numbering carried over from the 2022 Act

3 What changed in practice

Reverses the presumption toward real-time electronic result transmission built up after 2022
Governs the 2027 general election cycle (Pres/NASS 20 Feb 2027; Guber/State 6 Mar 2027)

4 Who it affects

INECVotersPolitical partiesCandidatesElection observers

5 What it repealed / replaced

Other laws in Electoral & Democracy