INEC fails to publish voter register as required by law before elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not publish the preliminary voters’ register on its website before the 90-day deadline for the 2027 general election. This is despite a legal requirement to make the register available online for everyone to see.

Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 says INEC must provide copies of the voters’ register for public scrutiny on its website and at every registration area for seven days before the 90 days leading to the general election.

“Subject to the provisions of section 9 (6) of this Act, the commission shall, not later than 90 days to a general election, appoint a period of seven days during which a copy of the voters’ register for each Local Government, Area Council or ward shall be displayed or published for public scrutiny at every registration area and on its official website or any website established by the commission for that purpose,” the section reads.

The general elections are set to start on 16 January 2027. This includes the presidential and National Assembly elections. INEC should have appointed the seven days for showing the voters’ register by 18 October. The governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are planned for 6 February 2027, according to INEC’s schedule.

Between 9 and 15 October, INEC held a nationwide display of voter registers at Registration Areas (RAs). This was to help voters check their details and find any errors.

But the commission failed to publish these registers on its website or any other website, which is required by the Electoral Act. The online portal for the preliminary register showed a message saying, “There are currently no preliminary registers to display. Please check back later,” right up to 18 October. PREMIUM TIMES checked the website on Wednesday, 21 October, and the message was still the same.

INEC Spokesperson Mohammed Haruna stated that the commission did publish the voter register and is preparing a clean copy for publication by 15 December.

“We published the voter register for claims and objections at our registration areas between October 9 & 15,” he said.

“Right now we are in the process of receiving and compiling the claims & objections to have a clean copy for publication by the 2026 Electoral Act deadline of December 15.”

This newspaper noted that besides the physical publication, the law requires a publication online. Haruna has not yet responded to our follow-up request for more information.

“It’s clearly a breach,” said Mujeeb Abdulwasiu, a Lagos-based lawyer.

Abdulwasiu pointed out that section 19 of the law requires INEC to publish both physically and online. He added that the electoral commission has already missed the 90-day deadline.

“Not only that they are required to publish for public scrutiny, such publication is time bound,” he said.

“There are two things. It is time-bound within 90 days to the general election, and not only that they are required to publish online, but they are also required to publish in each of the local governments.”

The Electoral Act also sets a penalty for failing to display or publish the register as required. Section 19(5) states that an INEC official who does not display or publish the register as the law says commits an offence. This can lead to up to six months in prison or a fine of N100,000 or both.

The preliminary voters’ register lets citizens check if their names and details are correct before the register is final. This process helps spot errors before they stop a voter from taking part in an election.

Under Section 19, INEC must accept and consider objections and complaints about names that should not be there or names that are missing within 14 days after the register is displayed or published.

The section also allows objections for including unqualified persons, including those who have died, and claims from registered voters whose names have been left out.

Nigerians have taken to social media to criticize INEC for this violation and are calling for accountability.

“INEC has disregarded the Electoral Act by failing to publish the voters’ register online for public scrutiny, even after the statutory 90-day deadline has passed,” one social media user, @mundus01, wrote.

Another Nigerian, @MallamJabeer, said the commission’s failure to publish the register online raises serious concerns.

“This is not something to ignore,” he wrote. “Nigerians deserve transparency, accountability and a credible electoral process.”