The National Assembly has proposed shifting Nigeria’s next general elections to November 2026, six months earlier than the usual February date.
The proposal is contained in the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, unveiled on Monday during a joint public hearing organised by the Senate and House Committees on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
The bill, which seeks to repeal the 2022 Electoral Act and enact a new Electoral Act 2025, drew lawmakers, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to the one-day session.
According to the draft 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.”
The proposed adjustment aims to ensure all election litigations are concluded before the May 29, 2027, handover date.
“The above provisions are to ensure that all litigations are concluded before swearing in,” the document explained.
Lawmakers, however, noted that the change alone may not be enough unless the judiciary is strengthened to handle the volume of election cases.
“In a situation where a rerun is ordered by the Supreme Court at the end of 185 days, can we have vacancy in the office of the President?” the joint committee asked, stressing the need to address judicial challenges to cope with increasing litigation.
If approved, the amendment means Nigeria’s presidential and governorship elections could hold in November 2026, roughly six months before the end of the current administration’s tenure.
Other highlights of the bill include inmate voting, early diaspora voting, use of NIN for voter registration, and compulsory electronic transmission of results.
The amendment also proposes major changes to voter identification.
According to the draft, “The use of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) will not be compulsory, since the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) does not recognise the microchip in the PVC.
It added that every registered voter would be able to “download and print his voter’s card whenever the need arises.”
Lawmakers said the move would eradicate the buying and selling of PVCs, which had plagued past elections, and make voter verification entirely digital.
It said this provision “reflects adjustments in Sections 18 and 47, and the deletion of Section 22 of the existing Act.”
Another proposal requires political parties to finalise and submit their candidate lists well ahead of election day.
“Every political party shall, not later than 210 days before the date appointed for a general election, submit to the Commission the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections,” the amendment stated.
It added that only “candidates who have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political party” would be recognised.
In addition, subsection five now allows “any other candidate of any other party” to challenge the nomination process of rival parties, while limiting the jurisdiction of pre-election cases to where the cause of action occurred or to the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory.
To provide legal backing for these reforms, the legislature is pushing a Bill which seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to transfer the power to regulate election timelines from the Constitution to the Electoral Act.
Lawmakers said the change would “allow for more legislative adaptability” and make it easier to adjust timelines without lengthy constitutional amendments.
The Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, both represented, vowed to ensure transparency and accountability in the process.
For the proposal to take effect, both chambers of the National Assembly must pass the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, which will then be forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
If signed into law, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will adjust its timetable accordingly, setting Nigeria on course for its earliest general elections in recent history.