₦airaland Forum

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.

treesun:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/10/2027-nass-proposes-november-2026-for-presidential-governorship-elections/

Aify147:
I don't know why I'm still finding it so hard to believe in these people, including the inec. Of all the promises Mahmood made in 2023, prior to the 2023 general elections, did we ever believe there would be anything called 'technical glitch '? I wonder how they're going to convince people like me again.

treesun:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/10/2027-nass-proposes-november-2026-for-presidential-governorship-elections/

SmartPolician:
These are good recommendations, but my only concern here is that the umpire in this election cannot be trusted because it's not independent.

Consequently, one of the big 4 auditing firms in Nigeria should have access to INEC backend server in real-time to help monitor the results as they trickle in. If not, the new INEC chairman probably has a story he will tell Nigerians in 2026 November why something went wrong with the server.

Lastly, I don't know why we still need presiding officers when we can actually transmit election results in real time.

AntiChristian:
Anytime is okay!

I sha know that someone will win and others will fail as is usual.

Someone won't agree and will decide to go to court!

Rinse and repeat!

Pauladex:
And how do you ensure the auditing farm is not worst than INEC itself. Employment contract was given a firm in one south west state. Then we discovered that this private firm are even worse than government agencies.

franchasng:
Very good if they are serious about it.

But wait oh, it looks like Akpabio and the House of Reps Speaker are tried of Emilokan's nepotism and are desperate to see the Divisive Southwest President sent back to Iragbiji earlier before he sets the whole country ablaze


If they are serious with their motions, then it's a welcomed idea but Baba Sope aka Lagos Landlord will fight to finish, so make una get ready

SmartPolician:
These are good recommendations, but my only concern here is that the umpire in this election cannot be trusted because it's not independent.

Consequently, one of the big 4 auditing firms in Nigeria should have access to INEC backend server in real-time to help monitor the results as they trickle in. If not, the new INEC chairman probably has a story he will tell Nigerians in 2026 November why something went wrong with the server.

Lastly, I don't know why we still need presiding officers when we can actually transmit election results in real time.

Zouzer:
All US elections are conducted on the same day. I see no reason the same can't happen here.

The only reason most would be opposed to this is because of the possibility of upset victories that tend to occur a lot when you conduct down ballot elections simultaneously with higher races. The popularity of candidates running for higher offices tend to push candidates contesting for lower offices across the finish line.

Imagine if the 2023 elections were all conducted in February. The outcome for most offices, especially governorships, would have likely been different than what it eventually was

SmartPolician:
These are good recommendations, but my only concern here is that the umpire in this election cannot be trusted because it's not independent.

Consequently, one of the big 4 auditing firms in Nigeria should have access to INEC backend server in real-time to help monitor the results as they trickle in. If not, the new INEC chairman probably has a story he will tell Nigerians in 2026 November why something went wrong with the server.

Lastly, I don't know why we still need presiding officers when we can actually transmit election results in real time.