The House of Representatives has adopted harsher punishments for electoral offences, such as a 10-year jail sentence or a N75 million fine for anyone found guilty of damaging election result sheets or fabricating nomination papers.
The decision was made in plenary as the Electoral Act of 2022 modifications were being considered.
The Principal Act’s N50 million penalties for electoral forgery was raised by lawmakers to N75 million under the modified provisions. The House also passed a N5 million fine for using a voter’s card improperly.
However, a proposal to punish those who materially or financially persuade delegates to sway the results of party congresses, conventions, or primaries with a two-year prison sentence was rejected by the House. Members contended that political rivals could use this clause as a tool to intimidate candidates.
Additionally, a clause requiring the complete cancellation of results and the holding of new elections in polling places where over-voting is proven was eliminated by lawmakers. The House replaced it with a new system that permits excess votes to be subtracted proportionately from each candidate’s total score, with the Presiding Officer in the impacted polling unit facing legal action.
Adebayo Balogun, the chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, told reporters following the plenary that the Electoral measure 2025 was first proposed as a measure to repeal the Electoral Act 2022 and adopt a new legislation.
He claimed that the suggestion was motivated by the need to address new issues with Nigeria’s voting system and build on the successes of recent elections.
“The committee, guided by stakeholder engagements, public hearings and expert submissions, initially proposed far-reaching reforms aimed at modernising the electoral framework,” Balogun said.
“These included early voting, inmate voting, the replacement of the Permanent Voters’ Card with more technology-driven accreditation mechanisms, adjustments to electoral timelines, and other innovations that would have significantly altered the structure and philosophy of the Electoral Act 2022,” he added.
He said it became clear during joint committee sittings of the National Assembly that many of the proposals lacked sufficient support across both chambers and among key stakeholders.
“In legislative practice, repeal and reenactment is appropriate where proposed changes fundamentally transform the identity of an existing law,” he noted. “In this case, since several of those transformative provisions were not approved at committee stage, the House, sitting as a Committee of the Whole, resolved that amendment rather than outright repeal was the more appropriate path,” he said.
Balogun emphasised that the ruling represented consensus-building in a democratic legislature rather than representing a setback for election reform.
“What matters in law is the effect of the legislation, not its label,” he said.
He went on to say that during clause-by-clause discussion, members made “very meaningful amendments,” highlighting the significance the House placed on the Electoral Bill 2025.
“The Electoral Act 2022 remains one of the most progressive electoral laws in our history. The current amendments are meant to consolidate its strengths, address observed gaps and improve implementation without undermining the stability of the existing legal framework,” he said.
Balogun reassured Nigerians that the process was inclusive and transparent, pointing out that the committee worked closely with the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), security services, political parties, civil society organisations, professional associations, development partners, and individuals.
He acknowledged that several creative ideas did not make the final cut, but he said they were still part of the national dialogue and might be discussed again in the future.
The Electoral Act 2022 revealed a number of flaws during the 2023 general elections, while being largely commended for implementing technological safeguards like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and electronic transmission of results.
Primarily among them was the absence of clear sanctions for some forms of electoral malpractice, including inconsistent application of technology by election officials and weak enforcement of penalties against offenders. Provisions pertaining to vote buying, overvoting, and party primary behaviour also proven controversial, with gaps that permitted manipulation and drawn-out legal proceedings.
Concerns were also raised over the inflexibility of election schedules, the absence of legislative support for early or special voting, and the unclear authority of INEC representatives at polling places. Public mistrust and calls for specific changes rather than a complete repeal of the statute were stoked by these gaps, operational shortcomings, and the delayed administration of justice in election violations.
The new amendments, lawmakers say, are aimed at strengthening accountability, deter electoral crimes and improve enforcement, while retaining the core structure of the 2022 Act.
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