2027 Elections: ActionAid, Stakeholders Calls For Collaboration Among INEC, Civil Society Groups, To Rebuild Citizens Trust.

As Nigerians gear up toward the 2027 elections, the Country Director of ActionAid, Andrew Mamedu has called for collaboration among Independent National Electoral Commission, the Nigerian people, political parties, the courts and civil society.


Mamedu stated this during a Citizens’ Townhall meeting to share the position and recommendations emerging from the Expert Meeting, and to engage citizens, journalists, and stakeholders in understanding the implications of the amendment for Nigeria’s democracy.

The Country Director assured that such collaboration will put more trust and confidence in the people to come out and carry out their electoral duties,”

According to him, such will help rebuild public trust and encourage participation in the electoral process.

Also at the Town hall meeting, stakeholders,  civil society organisations  urged the Federal Government to invest in reliable technology infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), result viewing portal and network systems.

According to them, "Such investment was to support effective electronic transmission in the few blind spots.

 The meeting which was conveyed by ActionAid Nigeria, was to deliberate on the National Assembly’s recent amendment to Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act.

Speaking further during an interview with journalists, the Country Director disclosed that the amendment permitted presiding officers to transmit election results electronically from polling units after Form EC8A has been signed.

Mamedu stated that, "With the provision where electronic transmission fails, the signed Form EC8A remains the valid source of results.

He called for reforms to strengthen confidence in the electoral system, including an independent audit of technological failures recorded in previous elections.

According to him, “We had a glitch in the last presidential election regarding result transmission, and nobody has told Nigerians what happened.

Mamedu called for collaboration among Independent National Electoral Commission, political parties, the courts and civil society.

This, he said, was to prevent a repeat of past challenges, including issues relating to technology deployment and legal processes.

 ‘’The country can temporarily seek external technical support, if local systems cannot be fully prepared before the next election in order to mitigate infrastructure constraints.

"The town hall meeting is designed to share the position and recommendations emerging from the expert meeting.

 ‘’It also aims to engage citizens media and stakeholders in understanding the implications of the amendment for Nigeria’s democracy.

 ‘’Also, it aims to present the expert consensus and policy recommendations from the closed-door meeting; provide clarity on the implications of Clause 60(3) for election integrity and transparency.

 “It fosters informed public debate on Nigeria’s electoral reforms; ensure accountability by engaging citizens and the media in the reform process,” Mamedu said.

Also present at the Townhall meeting, Prof. Sam Amadi, the Director of Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts and former Chairman of National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), stated that  credible elections were essential for democratic legitimacy, political stability, and good governance in Nigeria.

According to him, "Electronic transmission of election results represented a major reform innovation that strengthened electoral transparency and protected the integrity of election outcomes.

This is as he also identified some of the consensus reached at the Townhall meeting and the way forward to include legislative advocacy, implementation of strengthening electoral institutions reforms, policy engagement and public awareness


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