New Electoral Act 2026 Threatens Democracy — Ameh

Former national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Chief Peter Ameh, has raised the alarm over provisions in the newly signed Electoral Act 2026, describing them as a “crafted attempt” to serve the interests of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement released on Thursday, Ameh criticised the abolition of indirect primaries, the shortened campaign period, and reduced timelines for party primaries.

These changes “centralise control of candidate selection in the hands of national leadership in Abuja, specifically from the Villa,” removing grassroots influence and empowering a few to dictate outcomes nationwide.

“The shift to direct primaries will make primaries prohibitively expensive and logistically challenging, giving the incumbent administration undue leverage to influence or manipulate membership registers and voting processes,” he said

He added that the reduced campaign period and funding timeline “severely disadvantage opposition parties and independent aspirants, tilting the playing field heavily in favor of the ruling party.”

Ameh also described the provisions as “legislative overreach” into political parties’ internal affairs, noting that the 1999 Constitution guarantees parties’ autonomy to manage their own nomination processes.

“Provisions dictating only direct primaries or consensus encroach on this constitutional domain and may be ultra vires,” he stated

Ameh urged political parties, civil society, and concerned Nigerians to challenge the questionable clauses in court.

“Nigeria deserves an electoral framework that promotes inclusivity, fairness, and true internal party democracy, not one engineered to entrench incumbency and control from the center,” Ameh stated.