We’ll Boycott 2027 Elections If Electoral Act 2026 Is Not Amended – IPAC

ADC and APC

The Inter-Party Advisory Council has warned that political parties across Nigeria might boycott the 2027 general elections if controversial provisions in the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026 are not urgently amended. IPAC National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, recently had his say after an emergency meeting with leaders and representatives of political parties at the council’s national secretariat in Abuja.

According to him, the council has resolved to mobilise parties nationwide to resist the provisions if the National Assembly fails to correct controversial provisions in the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026.

He added that even though the Electoral Act 2026 was meant to tackle anomalies in the Electoral Act 2022, various sections of the new legislation introduced fresh challenges capable of weakening multiparty democracy.

His words, “While appreciating the considerable effort and energy invested in the enactment of the new Electoral Act 2026, the Council notes with concern that certain provisions in the Act have introduced new issues that are not conducive to the development of political parties, particularly in view of IPAC’s guiding principle of ‘Deepening Democracy in Nigeria.’

Unfortunately, there are clear indications that some aspects of the new Electoral Act 2026 undermine this fundamental objective and are inconsistent with the spirit of multiparty democracy.

It is an established principle, affirmed by several judicial pronouncements, that political parties possess certain fundamental rights in the administration of their internal affairs. However, the new Electoral Act 2026 has curtailed this right through Section 84(2), which excludes indirect primaries.

IPAC believes that the exclusion of indirect primaries constitutes a violation of the constitutional right of political parties to regulate their internal affairs, including determining the method of nominating their candidates for elections.

The mandatory electronic transmission of election results after announcement at polling units must be restored. Its absence was a major flaw during the 2023 presidential election, and such a lapse must not be allowed to undermine future elections, including the 2027 General Elections.

The requirement that members of political parties must possess and upload their National Identification Number (NIN) should be expunged. This provision will disenfranchise a significant number of Nigerians who do not have access to NIN and constitutes a violation of their rights under Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

In the present circumstances, IPAC cannot fold its arms. The time to act is now. Accordingly, IPAC has resolved to draw the attention of Nigerians and the international community, including the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), ECOWAS, the US and UK embassies and Nigerians in the diaspora to these concerns.

Should the National Assembly fail to address these anomalies through urgent amendments to the Act, political parties under the umbrella of IPAC will be compelled to boycott the 2027 General Elections. In such circumstances, the outcome of the elections will be rejected as illegitimate and will not be recognised by the political parties.”

WOW.