The House of Representatives on Thursday, December 18, 2025, approved sweeping amendments to Nigeria’s electoral law, imposing stiffer punishments for election-related crimes, including a 10-year prison sentence or a N75 million fine for anyone convicted of forging nomination documents or tampering with election result sheets.
The resolutions were adopted during plenary as lawmakers considered proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, 2022, in what they described as targeted reforms aimed at strengthening accountability and closing loopholes exposed by recent elections.
Under the revised provisions, the House increased the penalty for electoral forgery from N50 million to N75 million. Legislators also approved a N5 million fine for the improper possession or misuse of a voter’s card, as part of efforts to curb identity-related electoral fraud.
However, the House rejected a contentious proposal seeking to impose a two-year jail term on individuals who financially or materially induce delegates during party primaries, congresses or conventions.
Lawmakers argued that such a provision could easily be abused by political rivals and deployed as a tool to intimidate or harass aspirants.
In another major shift, the House removed the existing provision that mandated the automatic cancellation of election results and the conduct of fresh polls in polling units where over-voting is established.
Instead, lawmakers approved a new corrective framework under which excess votes will be deducted proportionately from the scores of all candidates, while the Presiding Officer responsible for the affected polling unit would face prosecution.
Speaking with journalists after plenary, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, explained that the Electoral Bill 2025 was initially conceived as a proposal to repeal the Electoral Act 2022 and replace it with an entirely new law.
According to him, the original intention was to consolidate lessons from recent elections and respond to emerging challenges in Nigeria’s electoral process.
“The committee, drawing from stakeholder engagements, public hearings and expert submissions, initially proposed far-reaching reforms aimed at modernising the electoral framework,” Balogun said.
He listed some of the proposals to include early voting, inmate voting, the replacement of the Permanent Voters’ Card with more technology-driven accreditation systems, adjustments to electoral timelines and other innovations that would have significantly altered the structure of the 2022 Act.
Balogun said it became evident during joint committee engagements in the National Assembly that many of these proposals did not enjoy sufficient consensus across both chambers or among critical stakeholders.
He explained, “In legislative practice, repeal and re-enactment is appropriate where proposed changes fundamentally alter the identity of an existing law. In this instance, since many of the transformative provisions did not survive the committee stage, the House, sitting as a Committee of the Whole, resolved that amendment, rather than outright repeal, was the more appropriate route.”
He stressed that the decision should not be seen as a retreat from electoral reform, but as a reflection of democratic consensus-building.
“What matters in law is the effect of the legislation, not the label attached to it,” Balogun said.
He added that lawmakers introduced “very meaningful amendments” during clause-by-clause consideration, underscoring the seriousness with which the House approached the Electoral Bill 2025.
“The Electoral Act 2022 remains one of the most progressive electoral laws in our history. These amendments are designed to consolidate its strengths, address observed weaknesses and improve implementation without destabilising the existing legal framework,” he said.
Balogun assured Nigerians that the amendment process was transparent and inclusive, noting that the committee consulted widely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, civil society groups, political parties, professional bodies, development partners and members of the public.
While acknowledging that some innovative ideas did not make it into the final amendments, he said they remained part of the broader national discourse and could be revisited in the future.
“As our democracy matures and wider consensus is built, such proposals can be reintroduced through further legislative intervention,” he said, reaffirming the National Assembly’s commitment to credible, transparent and inclusive elections.
Although widely praised for introducing technological safeguards such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results, the Electoral Act 2022 revealed several shortcomings during the 2023 general elections.
Among the concerns were weak or unclear sanctions for certain forms of malpractice, inconsistent application of technology by election officials, and poor enforcement of penalties against offenders. Provisions relating to over-voting, vote buying and party primaries also generated controversy, with loopholes that enabled manipulation and prolonged post-election litigation.
There were equally complaints about rigid election timelines, the absence of legal backing for early or special voting, and ambiguities surrounding the powers of INEC officials at polling units. These gaps, combined with operational failures and delayed prosecution of electoral offences, fuelled public distrust and renewed calls for focused amendments rather than a wholesale repeal of the law.
Lawmakers insist that the latest amendments are intended to tighten enforcement, deter electoral crimes and strengthen accountability, while preserving the core architecture of the Electoral Act 2022.
