As the tenure of INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and several National Commissioners winds down ahead of the 2027 general elections, a growing coalition of civil society groups is calling for a radical overhaul of Nigeria’s electoral system, starting with who appoints the INEC leadership.
A joint platform of 17 civil society organisations, including Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), and Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), has proposed a comprehensive set of electoral reforms aimed at strengthening the independence, professionalism and transparency of elections in Nigeria.
The proposals were unveiled last week in Abuja during a roundtable where the group released a document titled:
The Citizens Memo outlines 37 key recommendations across 15 strategic objectives, spanning constitutional and legislative changes, as well as shifts in electoral culture.
At the heart of the memo is the demand to remove the president’s sole authority to appoint the INEC Chairman, National Commissioners, and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
The stakeholders argue that the current system undermines public trust and leaves the electoral body vulnerable to political manipulation.
“The Constitution should be amended to introduce a multi-stakeholder process for INEC appointments,” the memo states, adding that consultation should go beyond the Council of State to include traditional rulers, religious leaders, and civil society.
The group also wants to revamp INEC appointment criteria, stating that the current focus on “non-partisanship and unquestionable character” is insufficient.
Instead, future appointees should also meet professional, gender, age, and health requirements, bringing skills in law, IT, logistics, statistics and communications to the table.
Another demand is for the Constitution to set firm deadlines for appointments to INEC, within 30 days of any vacancy, to avoid unnecessary delays that weaken the Commission’s stability.
The memo extends to the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), which have long been accused of lacking autonomy.
Recommendations include Removing governors’ control over SIEC appointments, Involving state assemblies and independent panels in selecting SIEC members, Ensuring financial independence by charging their funding to the state Consolidated Revenue Fund as well as expanding SIEC powers to include monitoring primaries, campaigns, and civic education at the local level.
To ease INEC’s burden and improve performance, the memo proposes splitting its responsibilities: Party registration and regulation should go to a new Political Party Commission while Electoral offences prosecution should be handled by a proposed Electoral Offences Commission, independent of the Attorney-General’s office.
Critically, they argue that nolle prosequi powers (used to drop charges) should not apply to electoral offences, citing the need for deterrence and accountability.
To prevent prolonged post-election disputes and ensure that winners emerge before inauguration, the memo recommends:
– Elections be held between 240 and 90 days before the end of the current officeholder’s term (currently 150–30 days).
– Election petitions be resolved within 90 days, down from 180.
– Appeals in pre-election matters should end at the Court of Appeal, especially for state and federal legislative seats.
They also propose ending forum shopping by requiring suits to be filed where the dispute originated.
In a bid to make elections more inclusive, the memo backs Out-of-country voting for Nigerians in the diaspora, Special legislative seats for women as a temporary measure to increase female political participation and Stronger representation of youths and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the electoral process.
Alongside constitutional reforms, the Citizens Memo also outlines 16 proposed amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act, focusing on practical and procedural improvements.
Key Proposals:
– Allow other legal IDs (e.g. driver’s license, passport) in place of PVCs during voting, given the biometric BVAS system.
– Mandate a public, independent audit of the voter register.
– Introduce early voting for INEC staff, security personnel and journalists.
– Make election info accessible to PWDs (e.g., braille formats, sign language).
– Require INEC to review and adjust polling units every 5 years.
– Strengthen constituency delimitation by introducing a 15% deviation limit.
– Impose sanctions on parties that fail to submit member registers 30 days before primaries.
– Limit last-minute substitution of candidates, except in the event of death.
– Mandate electronic transmission of results, with clear legal provisions and timelines for mock tests of electoral technology.
– Require media fairness, including discounted airtime for women, youths and PWDs.
Clarify liability in media campaign breaches penalizing only the offending media houses, not their executives.
At the roundtable unveiling the memo, speakers including Cynthia Mbamalu (Yiaga Africa), Lanre Arogundade (IPC), Dr. Akin Akingbulu (CEMESO) and Tony Onyima (Paul University, Awka) called on the National Assembly and political leaders to treat the reforms as a national priority.
“Our elections need more than law, they need public trust. And that begins with genuine independence for INEC,” Mbamalu said.
The event, moderated by Ms. Anikeade Funke-Treasure Akintoye, also stressed the need for attitudinal shifts among stakeholders, beyond just legal reforms.
The coalition is now engaging with lawmakers and key institutions to push the memo into the formal amendment process.
With the 2027 elections drawing closer, they argue, the time to act is now.
“We must reform now or risk losing the people’s confidence in democracy altogether,” the Citizens Memo warns.
