President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) into law, days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
Principal executives of the National Assembly attended the signing, which was held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday at approximately 5:00 p.m.
The law was approved by the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Discussions concerning the electronic transmission of election results are rekindled by the amendment.
Real-time transmission of polling station results to INEC’s central server has long been advocated by civil society organizations and certain opposition leaders, who claim it will reduce manipulation and boost credibility.
Using the collapse of INEC’s Results Viewing Portal during the 2023 elections, which led to widespread accusations of election tampering, protesters disrupted the National Assembly building last week to demand live transmission.
Although the All Progressives Congress rule encourages the deployment of technology, some stakeholders contend that a phased or hybrid approach is necessary in places with inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, permitting manual collation in the event that electronic systems malfunction.
The general elections for the presidency and National Assembly are set for February 20 of 2027, while the elections for governorship and state houses of assembly are set for March 6.
