The constitutional amendments proposed by INEC include:
Special Voting and Inclusion: Amendments to Sections 72(2), 117(1), 132(5), and 198 of the 1999 Constitution to allow early, special and diaspora voting.
This would enable essential service providers, election officials, and Nigerians living abroad to participate in elections.
INEC’s Appointment Powers: Proposal to empower INEC to appoint Heads of its State and FCT Offices, strengthening its autonomy and efficiency.
Creation of New Agencies: Recommendation for establishing an Electoral Offences Commission and a Political Party Regulatory Agency to tackle the persistent challenges of political party management and electoral crimes.
Affirmative Action for Inclusion: Suggested amendments to Sections 48, 49, 71, and 91 to create special seats for women and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), fostering more equitable representation.
Clarity and Corrections: Fixing ambiguities, referencing errors, and conflicting provisions, regarding among others, the transmission and collation of results under Sections 60, 64, and 65.
Review of Election Results: Amending Section 65(1) to clearly define INEC’s power to review election results.
Special Voting Provisions: Adjusting Sections 12(2) and 45 to support early and special voting for designated groups, both domestically and abroad.
Strengthening Party Regulation: Moving responsibilities for party registration, monitoring and deregistration to a proposed Political Party Regulatory Agency, which would require consequential amendments across more than 15 sections of the Act.
Operational and Procedural Adjustments: Other proposed changes include clarifying timelines for candidate substitution under Section 31, redefining INEC’s role in managing and printing PVCs, regulating party primaries more strictly, and banning unaccredited agents at collation centers.
During a session organized by the Committee of the National Assembly on Electoral Matters at the Marriott Hotel in Lagos on Monday, April 28th, 2025, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, highlighted an important point by sharing the story behind the Commission’s ability to conduct the 2023 General Election without any postponement.
He said, “Nigerian printers have the capacity to meet our needs. The real challenge was time management. Under the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended), the Commission had just 60 days between the conclusion of party primaries and the conduct of the General Election election to know which political party was fielding candidates for each of the 1,491 seats, made up of 1 presidential constituency, 28 governorship, 109 senatorial, 360 federal and 993 state constituencies. We need the information for customization of the ballot papers and results sheets. Moreover, the Voters’ Register, which is the basis for planning the procurement of sensitive materials, has been increasing with every election by an average of 10 million new voters from Register, which is the basis for planning the procurement of sensitive materials, has been increasing with every election by an average of 10 million new voters from 2011 to the last election in 2023.
“As a result of that decision, the Commission had ample time to plan and consequently, for the first time in three electoral cycles, the 2023 General Election was not postponed on account of logistics associated with the printing and delivery of sensitive materials. Equally significant is that, for the first time since the restoration of democracy in 1999, not a single sheet of paper for the 2023 General Election was printed outside Nigeria. Everything was done within the country for which the Commission was commended by the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON).”
