A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has urged the National Assembly’s conference committee to adopt the House of Representatives’ position on mandatory electronic transmission of election results, introduction of downloadable voter cards and retention of existing electoral timelines to enhance credibility of the 2027 general elections.
The coalition made their positions known in a statement read by a Rights advocate, and CEO of TAF Africa, Dr. Jake Epelle at a media briefing held in Abuja, Nigeria.
The civil society groups expressed concern over what they described as conflicting narratives surrounding the Senate’s position on electronic transmission of results, which involved substituting the word “transmit” with “transfer”.
“We strongly recommend to the National Assembly harmonising committee to adopt the House of Representatives’ position mandating electronic transmission”.
The group also proposed modification to the clause 60(3) of the 2022 electoral Act to include, allowing designated election officials to electronically transmit all election results real-time, including the number of accredited voters, directly from polling units and collation centres to a public portal and the transmitted result shall be used to verify any other result before it is collated.
They explained that real-time electronic transmission of results means sending official polling unit results recorded on Form EC&A electronically from the polling unit directly to a central results portal.
“Immediately after voting has ended , ballots have been counted and the results have have been publicly announced in the polling unit and in the presence of party agents, observers and voters”.
On Downloadable Voter Cards and Compressed time line, the coalition urged the conference committee to also adopt the position of the House of Representatives’ which approved downloadable missing and unused voters’ cards to stop disenfranchising citizens.
“Data from INEC’s 2023 general election cycle indicate that approximately 6.2 million registered voters failed to collect their PVCs, resulting in disenfranchisement despite completed registration. Downloadable PVCs eliminate such barriers to voter participation”.
Referencing the 2022 electoral Act, section 28 (1), which empowers INEC to issue notice of election 360 days before the polls, one the group members, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Mr. Samson Itodo equally urged INEC to publish the 2027 election times tables and begin implementation on time, as compressing the process could heighten the chances of operational failures.
“Based on INEC’s established policy of holding general elections on the third Saturday of February, the 2027 polls are expected to hold on February 20, 2027, meaning the notice should be issued by February 24, 2026. We urge INEC to promptly issue times tables and schedules for 2027 election without delays”.
They also posited for the review of section 65 of the electoral bill which restrict rights to only INEC officials reports to be used when an election is signed under duress, recommending that the scope of persons eligible to file reports should be broadened to include political parties, candidates , accredited party agents and observers present during collaboration of results.
“The multi-stakeholder approach creates distributed accountability mechanisms that reduce vulnerability to administrative or process capture.”
They equally called for the restoration of the proposed 10 year ban for offences related to the buying and selling of permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) that was earlier expunged.
The senate’s emergency plenary slated for Tuesday February, 2026 was also acknowledged, as the sitting was convene to address matters related to the electoral amendment.
“We urge the Senate to utilise the opportunity to adopt unambiguous provisions through its votes and proceeding that explicitly adopts mandatory, realtime electronic transmission and collation of results among others”.
They urged the conference committee members to approach the harmonisation deliberations guided by national interest , institutional integrity, and democratic accountability, conclude and transmit the final bill to the president within two weeks.
The group added that electoral reform is not merely a procedural exercise but foundational to the credibility, transparency, and predictability of democratic transitions.
The coalition include Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Elect Her, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa and Yiaga Africa,