The Senate on Tuesday amended clause 28 of the Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2026, reducing the notice period for general elections from 360 days to 300 days to prevent the 2027 presidential and national assembly elections from coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The upper chamber rescinded its earlier passage of the bill and recommitted it to the committee of the whole, following concerns that the 360-day requirement could compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fix election dates during Ramadan.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, representing Ekiti Central, moved the motion for rescission under orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders.
“Upon critical review of the passed bill, the 360-day notice requirement prescribed in clause 28 could result in the scheduling of the 2027 presidential and national assembly elections during the Ramadan period,” Bamidele said.
The Senate adopted a revised clause 28, which provides that:
“The commission shall, not later than 300 days before the day appointed for holding of an election under this bill, publish a notice in each state of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, stating the date of the election and appointing the place at which nomination papers are to be delivered. The notice shall be published in each constituency in respect of which an election is to be held.”
Bamidele explained that holding elections during Ramadan “could adversely affect voter turnout, logistical coordination, stakeholders’ participation, and the overall inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.”
The amendment followed consultations between the National Assembly leadership and INEC, which had earlier fixed February 20, 2027, for the presidential and national assembly elections, and March 6, 2027, for governorship and state assembly polls.
Simon Lalong, chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, said INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan did not deliberately fix the dates to clash with Ramadan.
“It was the immediate past INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, that actually set the template for the election dates from 2019 to 2031,” Lalong said.
In a related decision, the Senate retained a proviso in clause 60 allowing manual transmission of election results where electronic transmission fails due to network challenges.
Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South, raised a point of order and called for a division on clause 60(3), objecting to the proviso permitting manual transmission.
“This is democracy in action,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio said, directing senators to “signify where they belong by standing up and raising up their hands.”
At the end of the vote, 55 senators voted in favour of retaining the proviso, while 15 opposed it. Akpabio declared that those who supported the provision “had just saved Nigeria’s democracy.”
With the decision, the Senate reaffirmed that while electronic transmission of results is permitted, the duly signed Form EC8A shall serve as the primary source of results in the event of network failure.
Boluwatife Enome
