INEC violates Electoral Act, fails to publish voter register 90 days before election

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to publish the preliminary voters’ register on its website by the 90-day deadline before the 2027 general election, despite a legal requirement for the register to be made available online for public scrutiny.

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Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires INEC to make copies of the voters’ register available for public scrutiny on its website as well as at every registration area for seven days before 90 days to the general election.

“Subject to the provisions of section 9 (6) of this Act, the commission shall, not later than 90 days to a general election, appoint a period of seven days during which a copy of the voters’ register for each Local Government, Area Council or ward shall be displayed or published for public scrutiny at every registration area and on its official website or any website established by the commission for that purpose,” the section reads.

Display of voter register

Since the 2027 general elections are scheduled to begin on 16 January 2027, with the presidential and National Assembly elections, the deadline for INEC to appoint the seven days for displaying the voters’ register was 18 October. The governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for 6 February 2027, according to INEC’s timetable.

Between 9 and 15 October, INEC conducted a nationwide display of voter registers at Registration Areas (RAs) across the country to allow voters to check their details and identify errors.

However, the commission did not publish them on its website or any other website, as mandated by the Electoral Act.

The online portal for the preliminary register still displayed a message stating “There are currently no preliminary registers to display. Please check back later,” up until 18 October, FIJ reported. PREMIUM TIMES visited the website on Wednesday, 21 October, and the display remained the same.

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INEC Spokesperson Mohammed Haruna said the commission published the voter register and is working toward a clean copy for publication ahead of 15 December.

“We published the voter register for claims and objections at our registration areas between October 9 & 15,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.

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“Right now we are in the process of receiving and compiling the claims & objections to have a clean copy for publication by the 2026 Electoral Act deadline of December 15.”

This newspaper pointed out that in addition to the physical publication, the sector mandated a publication on its website. He has yet to respond to our subsequent request for clarification.

“It’s clearly a breach,” said a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Mujeeb Abdulwasiu.

Mr Abdulwasiu said section 19 of the law requires INEC to publish both physically and online.

He said the electoral commission has already missed the 90-day deadline.

“Not only that they are required to publish for public scrutiny, such publication is time bound,” he added.

“So two things, it is time-bound within 90 days to the general election, and not only that they are required to publish online, but they are also required to publish in each of the local governments.”

The Electoral Act also prescribes a penalty for failure to display or publish the register as required.

Section 19(5) states that an INEC official who fails to display or publish the register in accordance with the law commits an offence punishable with imprisonment for up to six months or a fine of N100,000 or both.

The preliminary voters’ register allows citizens to check whether their names and details have been correctly recorded before the register is finalised. The process is designed to help identify errors before they affect a voter’s ability to participate in an election.

Under Section 19, INEC is required to accept and consider objections and complaints concerning omitted or included names and necessary corrections within 14 days following the display or publication of the register in accordance with the section.

The section also allows objections to the inclusion of unqualified persons, including deceased persons, and claims by registered voters whose names have been omitted.

Nigerian berate commission

Nigerians have taken to social media to berate the commission for the violation and are calling for accountability.

“INEC has disregarded the Electoral Act by failing to publish the voters’ register online for public scrutiny, even after the statutory 90-day deadline has passed,” one social media user, @mundus01, wrote.

Another Nigerian, @MallamJabeer, said the commission’s failure to publish the register online raises serious concerns.

“This is not something to ignore,” he wrote. “Nigerians deserve transparency, accountability and a credible electoral process.”