ADC Faults Revised 2027 Election Timetable

The African Democratic Congress on Friday rejected the revised 2026–2027 general election timetable released by the aIndependent National Electoral Commission, saying the new schedule favours President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 polls.

The party made its position known in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.

The dispute followed INEC’s decision to adjust the election dates after earlier concerns that the initial schedule clashed with the Ramadan period.

The commission had first fixed the Presidential and National Assembly elections for February 20, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections for March 6, 2027.

After the National Assembly amended the law to shorten the required notice period from 360 days to 300 days, INEC released a new timetable moving the Presidential and National Assembly polls to January 16, 2027, and the Governorship and State Assembly elections to February 6, 2027.

Reacting to the changes, the ADC said the new deadlines create tough conditions for opposition parties. The party pointed to the requirement that political parties must submit a complete digital membership register to INEC by April 2, 2026.

It noted that party primaries are expected to hold between April 23 and May 30, 2026, leaving a short period to meet the conditions set out in the Electoral Act 2026.

According to the party, the law requires each membership register to contain detailed personal information, including names, gender, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number and photographs, in both hard and soft copies.

It also bars parties from using older registers that do not meet these standards. The ADC argued that failure to comply within the set time could prevent a party from fielding candidates.

The party questioned the fairness of the timeline, noting that the ruling All Progressives Congress began its digital registration process in February 2025, long before the new requirement became compulsory.

It said this gave the governing party more time to prepare, while other parties now have only a few weeks to gather and process large amounts of data.

The ADC stated that it has joined other opposition parties in rejecting both the Electoral Act 2026 and the revised timetable. It said it is reviewing its next steps and will make its decision known soon.

The party also called on civil society groups and other stakeholders to examine the new schedule and demand fairness in the electoral process.

It warned that democracy would suffer if election rules appear to favour one side over others as the country moves toward the 2027 general elections.