On 17 February 2026, the National Assembly of Nigeria passed a new electoral bill introducing several structural changes to the Nigeria’s election framework. These reforms directly affect election funding, voter registration requirements, candidate nomination timelines, result transmission, and party primary processes. For stakeholders, particularly young people, understanding these changes is essential for civic education, and understanding electoral actions.

Below is a breakdown of the key changes and the likely implications.

• Election Funding Timeline Shortened

The new Electoral Bill shortens the election funding timeline by requiring that funds be released to the Independent National Electoral Commission at least six months before elections, compared to the previous requirement of twelve months. This shorter funding window could affect long-term planning and operational independence, as election management bodies typically rely on extended timelines for procurement, staff training, logistics deployment, and voter education. With less preparation time, there may be increased pressure on overall election preparation cycles.

• New List of Accepted IDs for Voter Registration

The new bill also changes voter registration requirements. The list of accepted IDs is now limited to Birth Certificate, Nigerian Passport, and National Identification Number (NIN), with National ID cards and Driver’s Licences removed. While this may improve data standardisation and integrity, it is another problem for data harmonisation, meaning shouldn’t the NIN be enough for registration as it is a required and mandatory identity number for all?

•  Introduction of Downloadable Voter Cards

With the new electoral bill, voters can now download their voter cards directly from INEC’s website. This will reduce distribution bottlenecks, lower production costs, and improve participation in elections for voters. 

• Shorter Timeline for Submission of Candidates

The bill also shortens political party timelines, requiring parties to submit candidate lists 120 days before elections instead of 180 days. This may force faster primary elections and quicker internal dispute resolution, which could disadvantage smaller parties with weaker administrative capacity while favouring larger, better-organised parties.

• Publication of Candidate List

Similarly, INEC must now publish the list of candidates 60 days before elections instead of 150 days. While this speeds up the election calendar, it reduces the time available for the public to vet a candidate, legal challenges and dispute resolution, and voter education about candidates.

• Campaign Spending Limit 

The bill also significantly increases the limit of campaign spending for various elective positions as outlined below. 

Elective Position	Previous Limit (Naira)	New Limit (Naira)
President	5 Billion	10 Billion
Governor	1 Billion	3 Billion
Senator	100 Million	500 Million
House Members	70 Million	250 Million
State Assembly	30 Million	100 Million
Area Council Chairmanship	30 Million	!00 Million
Councillor	5 Million	10 Million
Personal Donation Cap	50 Million	500 Million

As we know, campaign financing is not easy to track, even for INEC: and it is also surprising how this will be enforced. 

• Electronic Transmission of Results Becomes Mandatory

The bill further makes electronic transmission of results compulsory. However, if electronic transmission fails, the physical result sheet (EC8A) becomes the primary collation document. This creates a hybrid system that may improve speed and transparency but could still generate disputes about the authenticity and legal hierarchy of results.

• Changes to Party Primary Methods

Finally, the law now recognises only direct primaries and consensus candidate selection, removing indirect primaries. This could reshape internal party power structures by either expanding participation through direct primaries or increasing elite negotiations through consensus arrangements, depending on how parties implement their internal guidelines.

To conclude, electoral reforms play a major role in shaping how young people see democracy and whether they choose to participate in it. When reforms improve transparency, access, and fairness, they can strengthen youth trust in democratic institutions and encourage greater voter turnout, civic engagement, and leadership participation. 

However, if reforms create new barriers, and perceived loopholes that politicians can explore, they can increase skepticism and reduce confidence in the electoral process. In a country like Nigeria, where young people make up a large share of the population, building trust through inclusive and well-implemented electoral reforms will be critical to sustaining long-term democratic participation.

Temidayo Musa is Head of Programs and Operations, Civic Hive