A coalition of opposition political parties has rejected the Electoral Act 2026 recently assented to by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, calling for an immediate fresh amendment to what they described as “obnoxious provisions” in the law.
The demand was made at a press conference on Thursday in Abuja themed “Urgent Call to Save Nigeria’s Democracy,” where party leaders urged the National Assembly to revisit the legislation and align it, in their view, with democratic best practices.
The communiqué was read by Ahmed Ajuji, National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who insisted that nothing short of a comprehensive review would be acceptable.
Prominent opposition figures at the briefing included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, former Senate President David Mark, and former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The coalition argued that certain amendments in the new Act could undermine transparency and public confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Central to their objections is the revision of Section 60(3), which permits presiding officers to revert to manual transmission of election results in the event of technical failure.
According to the opposition leaders, the provision weakens the mandatory electronic transmission framework and potentially opens the door to manipulation.
They maintained that Nigeria’s electoral infrastructure is capable of sustaining nationwide electronic transmission and cited earlier assurances from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The coalition also criticised changes to Section 84, which limit political parties to direct primaries and consensus methods for candidate selection.
They described the move as interference in internal party affairs and insisted that indirect primaries remain constitutionally valid.
The opposition further cited alleged irregularities in the recent Federal Capital Territory council elections as evidence of systemic weaknesses in the electoral process.
They condemned reported attacks on leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Edo State, warning that rising political violence could erode democratic participation if unchecked.
In their joint statement, the parties pledged to challenge the law through constitutional means and called on civil society groups and Nigerians to defend electoral integrity.
President Tinubu signed the Electoral Act (Amendment) 2026 into law on February 18, following its passage by the National Assembly.
The legislation formally recognises the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and introduces revised timelines for elections.
However, debates over real-time electronic transmission dominated deliberations in both chambers.
In the Senate, a division saw 55 lawmakers vote to retain the manual transmission fallback clause, while 15 opposed it.
A similar disagreement occurred in the House of Representatives during clause-by-clause consideration.
While the presidency has defended the amendments as safeguards against technical glitches and hacking, opposition leaders argue that the manual fallback provision could dilute transparency.
With the 2027 elections on the horizon, the dispute signals a potentially prolonged political and legal contest over the framework that will govern Nigeria’s next general polls.
