Evaluating the Legal Instruments Used in the Conduct of Elections in Nigeria: A Doctrinal and Empirical Analysis
Abstract
Background The legal framework for Nigeria’s electoral process has been challenged on numerous occasions regarding election-related issues such as voter registration, political funding, voting methods, and the electronic transmission of results. The ability of this framework to support free and fair elections continues to be a subject of dispute. Methods A combination of the doctrinal review of the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and an empirical survey of electoral stakeholders (political party members, INEC staff, legal practitioners, civil society representatives) were conducted on April 2026. Using Cochran’s formula to determine sample size, a target sample size of 385 was determined. This target sample size produced 256 validated questionnaires (66.6%). Results The majority of participants (89.5%) indicated they had knowledge of the existing legal documents. Further, 70.7% believed the legal documents to be adequate for establishing credibility for elections; however, 91.5% of all participants agreed that amendments would be required at some level. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was identified by the largest percentage of participants (71.5%) as the most recognized form of technology, and further, 53.5% indicated they believed the current forms of technology are lacking. Similarly, there existed a statistically significant relationship between participant perceptions that legal documents provided credible elections and participant perceptions that technology played a significant role. Conclusions Nigeria has a fairly complete legislative structure supporting elections, but that support is weakened by poor implementation of those laws, a continuing disagreement as to whether the collation should be done manually or electronically, and public perception of INEC being dependent on institutions. Doctrinal and empirical reforms include making electronic transmission mandatory (binding).