The Digest:
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has declared that the Electoral Act 2026, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, will ensure every Nigerian vote counts and eliminate result manipulation between polling units and collation centres. Speaking after Tinubu's assent, Akpabio said the law mandates electronic transmission of polling unit results to INEC's iREV portal, allowing Nigerians to compare uploaded results with collated figures. "The implication is that if what is collated differs from iREV, Nigerians can compare whether the result has been tampered with. That has been eliminated today," he said. The law makes provisions for areas with poor network, allowing Form EC8A as the primary source. Other reforms include direct primaries for political parties and fresh elections when winners are disqualified. Speaker Tajudeen Abbas noted the election notice period was reduced from 360 to 300 days to avoid Ramadan.
Key Points:
- The electronic transmission mandate aims to restore public confidence in election integrity.
- Direct primaries and fresh election provisions deepen internal party democracy.
- Voters gain transparency tools, while manipulators face reduced opportunities.
- This signals the most significant electoral reform since 1960, according to Akpabio.
- The timing, ahead of 2027, provides a clear legal framework.
Akpabio hails the Electoral Act 2026 as transformative, mandating e-transmission, direct primaries, and fresh elections for disqualified winners to end manipulation.
Sources: The Cable, National Assembly
