New Penalties In Electoral Bill Won’t Guarantee Credible Polls – Analysts

Civil society organisations (CSOs) and a political science scholar have stated that, although the newly passed Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill appears plausible, it cannot guarantee improved elections if stakeholders in the system fail to fulfil their responsibilities.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act, 2022, to regulate the conduct of federal, state and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, and for related matters.

The bill aims to enhance the transparency and credibility of elections, while also improving the overall electoral process.

Clause 60(3) of the bill mandates the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit results from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) in real time, alongside the physical collation of results.

The proposal states that result transmission must be carried out simultaneously with physical collation, thereby strengthening safeguards against manipulation.

The proposed legislation also prescribes stiffer penalties for vote buying and selling, including a minimum of two years’ imprisonment or a fine of N5 million, or both, in addition to a 10-year ban from contesting elections.

Under the amended Clause 22(a and c), individuals involved in vote buying or selling, as well as those in possession of voter cards for such purposes, will face tougher sanctions than previously provided, where penalties were capped at N500,000 or a maximum of two years’ imprisonment.
and the efficient conduct of polls.

Commenting on the development, Dr Gauda Garuba, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD–West Africa), said that beyond the provisions of any law, the capacity and sincerity of enforcement are key to improving the electoral process.

Garuba told LEADERSHIP Friday that experience over the years had shown that heightened desperation to seize political power often leads to a blatant disregard for the rules.

“Beyond the provisions of any law, the capacity and sincerity of enforcement are key. The experience over the years has shown that as the desperation to grab political power intensifies, the propensity to respect the law weakens,” he said.

The executive director of the CREAP Africa Initiative, Sylvanus Udoenoh, said the passage of the bill represented a significant legislative effort to address persistent weaknesses in Nigeria’s electoral process, particularly ahead of the 2027 general election.

He stated that provisions such as statutory backing for the electronic transmission of results to IREV, the early release of election funds to INEC, and stiffer penalties for vote buying and official misconduct, if faithfully implemented, have the potential to enhance transparency, operational efficiency and public confidence in the electoral process.

Udoenoh maintained that these measures directly address long-standing concerns about result manipulation, logistical failures and last-minute funding bottlenecks that have undermined past polls.

However, he noted that the effectiveness of the proposed legislation would depend less on its intentions and more on political will, enforcement capacity and institutional independence.

“While harsher penalties for vote trading and sanctions for erring presiding officers are commendable, Nigeria’s challenge has never been the absence of laws, but the selective application of justice, which has largely contributed to our setbacks. Without consistent prosecution and insulation of INEC and security agencies from political interference, these provisions risk becoming symbolic rather than transformative,” he said.

He also observed that the expansion of campaign finance ceilings, especially for presidential and gubernatorial candidates, raised concerns about further entrenching money politics, particularly in a context where monitoring and enforcement of campaign finance rules remain weak.

“We are particularly concerned about the removal of sanctions for the inducement of delegates during party primaries. This omission preserves one of the most corrosive entry points of corruption in Nigeria’s democratic process. When candidates can freely buy delegate support without consequence, electoral reforms at the general election stage become less effective, as flawed candidates emerge from compromised internal party processes.

“Electoral credibility begins with transparent party primaries. Leaving this gap unaddressed could weaken the reform architecture.

“In sum, we believe that the bill can improve Nigeria’s electoral process and positively influence the 2027 elections to a moderate extent, but only if accompanied by practical, rigorous enforcement, judicial cooperation, real-time transparency and complementary reforms within political parties.

“On behalf of the CREAP Africa Initiative, I call on the National Assembly to address outstanding loopholes, on INEC to assert its strengthened mandate responsibly, and on citizens and civil society to remain vigilant. Electoral reform is not a single legislative act; it is a continuous democratic commitment that must place integrity above political convenience,” Udoenoh added.

Also speaking, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State, Dr Terna Vincent Tavershima, said that, like previous attempts at electoral reform, the bill has the potential to improve Nigeria’s electoral system, depending on the actions of those involved.

“If you look at the trajectory of electoral law amendments in Nigeria, you will agree with me that the impact has been incremental. We started from the 1999 election up to 2003, which was very bloody. We then had the 2007 election, which the winner, Umaru Yar’Adua, later admitted was not perfect. In 2015, an incumbent president was defeated. We also saw the results in 2019 and 2023, where three presidential candidates won 12 states each — previously unheard of in this country — from the Labour Party, the PDP and the APC.

“All these incremental improvements are a result of previous electoral amendments. In every election cycle, there is always a need for further reforms,” he said.

The scholar, while expressing reservations about some clauses in the bill, queried: “Will INEC actually follow the rules to the letter? Will the electorate do the same? Will political actors comply? And will the government, through its security agencies, ensure strict enforcement? These are serious challenges.”

On campaign finance limits, he said INEC lacks the capacity to effectively monitor spending.

“Candidates move large amounts of cash before and on election day. How do you track that? They are not relying solely on electronic transfers that can be verified through bank statements. Cash donations are often undeclared. How do you hold such candidates accountable or penalise them for exceeding spending limits? This will be very difficult to implement,” he said.

On vote buying, he noted that voters themselves are often complicit.

“The electorate collects money on election day, while security agents deployed to polling units are often compromised. The voter argues: ‘Give me my share now; once you win, we won’t see you again.’ In most cases, that is exactly what happens.

“When apprehended, voters deny collecting money to vote. How do you prove otherwise? Prosecution becomes extremely difficult, even though the law has been passed,” he added.

According to him, the clause most likely to serve as a game changer is the electronic transmission of results from polling units to IREV, provided there are no technical glitches.

“This aspect can hardly be manipulated because party agents, voters and security personnel are present. Once results are ready, they insist on immediate transmission to IREV for verification,” he said.

However, he recalled past challenges.

“There is a history here. A former INEC chairman cited a glitch in the transmission of presidential results but not in the senatorial and House of Representatives elections conducted on the same day. Such inconsistencies raise concerns. Nevertheless, INEC must be held accountable to ensure there are no glitches in 2027.”

He concluded that if electronic transmission works seamlessly, as expected, it would represent a significant incremental improvement in Nigeria’s electoral system.

“This is one of the most important amendments in the Electoral Act Amendment of 2025,” Tavershima added.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon Adebayo Balogun, said the Electoral Act 2022 remains one of the most progressive electoral laws in the country’s history.

However, he noted that the amendments proposed under the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025 are designed to consolidate its strengths, address observed gaps and improve implementation, without undermining the stability of the existing legal framework.

Balogun said: “Several proposed provisions — such as early voting, inmate voting, removal of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC), and changes to election timelines — which would have resulted in a fundamental transformation, were not approved at the committee stage.

“This decision is not a setback to electoral reform. Rather, it reflects the maturity of our democracy and the responsibility of Parliament to legislate in an inclusive, balanced manner grounded in broad consensus.

“While some innovative proposals could not be accommodated at this stage, they remain part of our national discourse on electoral reform and can be revisited as our democracy evolves and wider consensus is achieved.”