· YIAGA demands Electoral Act 2026 Amendment
· Stakeholders less optimistic
By Michael AMAJAMA
As the race towards the 2027 general elections hots up, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians of a credible election in 2027, promising that next year’s polls will be the best yet.
Amupitan said this on Sunday during a Citizens’ Townhall on the 2026 Electoral Act in Abuja.
“By the grace of God, the 2027 election will be the best Nigeria has ever had. The electorate of 2027 is more aware and understands the direct correlation between elections and national development,” Amupitan said.
“We want a process that guarantees the legitimacy and confidence people want to see in their system. When people trust INEC and their leaders, the country will move forward.”
According to the INEC boss, the electoral body is putting in the needed work to ensure that next year’s polls are credible.
Logistics remain a challenge
He identified logistics issues as one of the challenges facing INEC in conducting elections.
“So result management and logistics are two basic issues that, from our own end, we’re trying to see how best we’re able to manage them very well, so as to enhance the transparency and credibility of the system,” he said.
Amupitan also said INEC will conduct a mock presidential election to test-run the transmission process for next year’s poll.
Era of glitch over – INEC
“Moving forward, we will conduct mock presidential elections to ensure that transmission across state lines is seamless before the actual vote,” the INEC chief told the gathering.
“Regarding the ‘glitch’ that was blamed for issues in 2023, let me be clear: the glitch is eliminated. It will not surface again,” he added.
“My audit of the 2023 election showed that while the BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) was tested in state-level elections like Osun and Ekiti, it was not properly tested for the scale of an interstate presidential election.”
He explained that the legal provisions allowing alternative collation methods are merely safeguards and not an indication that the commission expects electronic transmission to fail.
“It is just a proviso, a safety. If it fails, results must still be transmitted. But our determination is that it will not fail,” the INEC boss said.
“Election anywhere in the world is now about technology, but before deploying any technology, it is important to test it thoroughly,” he said.
According to him, INEC plans to conduct a nationwide mock presidential exercise ahead of the 2027 vote to ensure the result-transmission infrastructure can handle the scale of a national election.
Amend the Act – YIAGA
YIAGA Africa Director, Samson Itodo, has called on lawmakers to recommence the amendment of the Electoral Act 2026 to expunge the proviso that allows manual transmission of results.
According to him, the proviso negates the core objective behind the push to amend the Electoral Act 2022, which he said was intended to make the electoral process more transparent by reducing human interference.
“I just wished that the lawmakers eliminated that particular proviso. This is why we made a call to them to commence the process of amending that Act and just delete that particular proviso.
“That way, as a country we will maximise the utility of electronic transmission of results because it limits human interference, it makes the whole process open and transparent. If politicians are not scared I see no reason why this was not considered in its full breadth,” he said.
A citizen’s duty – Ibeanu
Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu at the townhall tasked citizens to be actively involved in the process.
“These elections are about you; it is not about the politicians; it is not about INEC. It is about you. Join a movement and make your voice heard,” he charged.
Most stakeholders held diverse opinions with Senator Victor Umeh of the ADC expressing the hope that, ‘The IREV Portal will be a checkmate to election rigging.”
