The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) plans to seek amendments to the Electoral Act 2022 to address issues surrounding manual transfer and electronic transmission of election results.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja. He highlighted eight legislative proposals stemming from the 2023 elections, including clearer guidelines for result management and introducing computer-generated voter slips as an alternative to Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Yakubu emphasized that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has reduced the need for PVCs, proposing downloadable voter slips to save costs and eliminate the risk of voter card purchasing.
Additional recommendations include early voting for election personnel, diaspora voting, creating a tribunal for electoral offenses, and unbundling INEC to focus separately on political party regulation. Yakubu also stressed the importance of cleaning the voter register in collaboration with agencies like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
INEC plans to implement 142 recommendations to improve future elections, with 86 requiring administrative action and others involving collaboration with stakeholders like political parties, security agencies, and civil society. Yakubu reiterated INEC’s commitment to refining electoral processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
