A National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mohammed Kudu Haruna, has defended the commission’s revised 2027 election timetable, insisting that political parties can feasibly meet the requirements for submitting comprehensive digital membership registers.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Haruna dismissed claims that opposition parties face difficulties in complying with the Electoral Act 2026. “Every serious party should have no problem collating its membership,” he said, noting that parties should already have much of their membership information sorted.
The revised timetable, released on Thursday, sets a deadline of 2 April 2026 for parties to submit detailed digital membership registers, a requirement that has drawn objections from parties such as the African Democratic Congress (ADC). ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using the Electoral Act amendments to manipulate the 2027 elections, vowing that his party would not legitimize any “fraudulent process.”
Haruna, however, maintained that INEC is strictly guided by law and cannot reject the provisions of the Electoral Act. “They are entitled to their opinion. That is the law of the land. INEC doesn’t have the pleasure of rejecting any law. It is guided by what the law is,” he said.
The commissioner acknowledged operational pressures caused by the compressed timetable, including the need to procure additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, print ballot papers and result sheets, and revalidate the voter register. He noted challenges with funding and public participation in revalidation: “The main problem is we have a period of publication for objections, and people never get back to us; sometimes it is a kind of self-indictment.”
On whether the elections would be glitch-free, Haruna cautioned, “I cannot tell you it will be glitch-free,” but remained confident that parties could meet the membership submission requirements within the stipulated timeframe.
