ABUJA
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the National Assembly has proposed that presidential and governorship elections be conducted in November 2026, instead of the usual February or March of the election year.
The proposal is contained in the draft amendments to the Electoral Act 2022, which were discussed on Monday during a one-day public hearing held by the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Senator Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South).
According to Section 4(7) of the proposed amendment, “Elections into the office of the President and Governor of a State shall be held not later than 185 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office.”
With the expiration of the current administration fixed for May 29, 2027, this means that the next presidential and governorship elections would take place around November 2026, as 185 days before May 29 falls within that month.
Similarly, the proposal for federal and state legislative elections under Section 4(5) states that such polls “shall be held not later than 185 days before the date on which each of the Houses stands dissolved.”
Lawmakers say the amendment aims to allow sufficient time for the resolution of election disputes before winners are sworn in.
Explaining further, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Adebayo Balogun, said the amendment would help prevent situations where court cases linger after winners assume office.
“We are proposing that all election litigations be concluded before the swearing-in of declared winners,” Balogun said.
“To achieve this, we are recommending that the current 180 days allowed for tribunal judgments be reduced to 90 days, while appellate and Supreme Court decisions should each take no more than 60 days — all within 185 days before inauguration.”
He added that the proposal would also require corresponding amendments to Sections 285 and 139 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to align with the new timeline.
At the public hearing, several stakeholders — including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) represented by Prof. Abdullahi Zuru — backed the push for electronic voting and electronic transmission of results to enhance transparency.
Under Section 60(5) of the proposed amendment, the law would make it mandatory for presiding officers to transmit results both electronically and manually. Failure to comply would attract a penalty of one-year imprisonment, a ₦1 million fine, or both.
The proposed amendments also introduce early voting, allowing certain categories of Nigerians — such as security personnel, INEC officials, accredited journalists, observers, and ad-hoc staff — to vote up to 14 days before election day.
The joint committee’s document also proposes the removal of election timelines from the Constitution and their inclusion in the Electoral Act, to make future adjustments more flexible.
“Section 28, now renumbered as Section 27(5–7), was introduced to reflect this change and unlock the constitutional restrictions on election timelines,” the document stated.
Stakeholders at the hearing broadly endorsed the reforms, describing them as timely steps toward improving Nigeria’s electoral credibility, strengthening institutional efficiency, and ensuring that post-election litigations no longer overlap with new tenures.
