‘Simplify the Electoral Act Now!’ – INEC Calls for Electoral Act Rewrite Ahead of 2027

The Independent National Electoral Commission has renewed its call for a clearer and more understandable Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to the commission, the current law is too complex for many Nigerians and needs to be rewritten in simple language.

The appeal was made by the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, during a citizens’ town hall meeting in Abuja.

The event was organised by the Civil Society Network on Election Integrity and the Electoral Act.

Amupitan said Nigeria needs an Electoral Act that ordinary citizens can easily read and understand.

According to him, the goal is to remove confusion and reduce disputes that often arise from different interpretations of the law.

He stated, “What Nigeria needs is actually what I call simple legislation, a simple language legislation, whereby it will be possible for every Nigerian to understand and appreciate the provisions of every section.”

The INEC chairman also spoke on the controversy surrounding the real-time transmission of election results.

He explained that the problem is not the idea of electronic transmission itself, but the meaning of “real time” and the state of network infrastructure across the country.

He said, “Talking about the transmission of the result, when INEC came in, we thought that transmission should be mandated. But let us be sincere about this, the only problem we had is how to define what we call real time.”

Amupitan cited the recent FCT area council election as an example.
He explained that while results from five councils were released quickly, results from one ward were delayed until the next day because election officials could not be reached.

He said, “I don’t see the issue of transmission as a problem; the problem is the adequacy of the network we have.”

According to him, even in the Federal Capital Territory, network challenges made it impossible to transmit some results instantly.

He stressed that these realities must be reflected clearly in the Electoral Act so that expectations match practical conditions on the ground.

INEC believes that simplifying the law will improve public trust and reduce post-election disputes.

The commission urged lawmakers to begin early work on amending the Act before preparations for the 2027 elections intensify.