Former senior officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday in Abuja warned that certain provisions in the Electoral Act 2026 could create confusion in the conduct of future elections if they are not reviewed.
They spoke during a roundtable organised by Yiaga Africa to discuss electronic transmission of results and its effect on election credibility.
The event followed the signing of the amended Electoral Act 2026 into law by President Bola Tinubu, a move that led INEC to adjust the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
While the commission reviewed its schedule in line with the new law, civil society groups have continued to push for full electronic transmission of results from polling units to a central server, saying it would reduce manipulation.
Among those who spoke at the dialogue were former National Commissioner Festus Okoye, former Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini and former INEC ICT Director Chidi Nwafor. They said parts of the new law contain inconsistencies, especially in relation to technology used during elections.
Okoye explained that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System remains an important tool for voter accreditation and result management, but noted that the Act does not consistently reflect the change from the former Smart Card Reader to BVAS in all its sections.
He said some parts of the law still mention the older device, which could cause uncertainty during implementation.
He advised lawmakers to avoid naming specific technologies in legislation because tools evolve over time and frequent amendments may become necessary.
He also spoke about provisions dealing with result transmission. According to him, the law provides for electronic transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, while also retaining the manually completed Form EC8A as the primary document for collation and declaration.
He noted that the Act defines transmission as either manual or electronic, meaning both methods are recognised.
Okoye said the law appears to separate transmission to the public viewing portal from transmission to the collation system.
He pointed out that previous court decisions described the Result Viewing Portal as mainly for viewing, not for collation. He suggested that lawmakers should make the provisions clearer to prevent disputes over which version of results should prevail in case of differences.
Nwafor traced the growth of election technology in Nigeria, recalling early digital voter registration efforts in 2003 and later biometric systems introduced during the tenure of former INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega.
He said technology has improved over the years but requires proper legal backing to function effectively.
The former officials called on the National Assembly to review and harmonise sections of the Electoral Act 2026 to remove areas of doubt.
They said clarity in the law is necessary to protect the credibility of elections as the country prepares for the 2027 polls.