2027: CSOs Raise Alarm Over Election Credibility, Demand Urgent Action

Six Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), including Yiaga Africa and the Kukah Centre, have raised the alarm over the credibility and preparedness of the 2027 general elections, demanding urgent action by the Federal Government, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties and security agencies to address emerging threats ahead of the polls.

The groups warned that insecurity, inadequate operational preparedness, inflammatory campaign rhetoric and declining public confidence in institutions could undermine voter participation and acceptance of the election results if not urgently addressed.

In an open memorandum to election stakeholders on Friday in Abuja, the CSOs, which also include Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), International Press Centre (IPC), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) and TAF Africa, said that with only 106 days to the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, there was little room for avoidable delays, weak coordination or inadequate public information.

The memorandum titled “Rising Concerns Ahead of the 2027 General Election: An Urgent Call for Action, ” read by the Programme Manager at Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, on behalf of the six organisations, said the Federal Government must ensure the timely release of adequate funds to enable INEC to undertake effective planning, procurement, personnel training, logistics and contingency arrangements, while also facilitating early and coordinated security preparations.

They said the security arrangements must protect “voters, election officials, observers and electoral materials, while safeguarding the independence and impartiality of the electoral process.”

The memorandum partly reads: “Gaps in operational preparedness, inflammatory campaign rhetoric, insecurity and declining confidence in public institutions could weaken participation and public acceptance of the outcome.”

The memorandum called on the Federal Government to ensure timely release of adequate funds to INEC for planning, procurement, personnel training, logistics and contingency arrangements, while also facilitating early and coordinated security preparations to protect voters, election officials, observers and electoral materials.

The organisations also urged the government to begin promptly the appointment of National Commissioners whose tenure expires in November, insisting that the process should be transparent, merit-based and non-partisan.

They said nominees should possess “proven integrity, relevant expertise, sound judgement and the technical and leadership capacity required for election administration.”

On INEC’s preparedness, the groups asked the commission to publish a dated readiness dashboard showing the release and deployment of election funds, procurement milestones, delivery and storage of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, as well as contingency plans for areas affected by insecurity or infrastructure challenges.

They also demanded the publication of recruitment criteria, personnel requirements, training schedules, deployment plans and welfare safeguards for ad hoc election staff.

On technology and result management, the civil society groups urged INEC to clearly explain how the Electoral Act 2026 and its regulations would govern voter accreditation, polling-unit result management, collation and publication, including the use of the electronic Form EC8A.

They further asked the commission to conduct and publish stress-test results for key election technologies, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

The organisations also demanded “clear audit trails for every correction or delayed upload of results” and verifiable evidence that the technological glitch that affected the uploading of results to IReV during the 2023 general election had been rectified.

They said the planned mock accreditation exercise should provide an opportunity for observers to independently verify the commission’s claims.

The groups further urged INEC to publish clear guidelines for the collection and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), including the logistics and human resources required to prevent delays and possible disenfranchisement.

Political parties and candidates were also warned against hate speech, voter intimidation, vote buying, coercion and other practices capable of undermining free choice.

“Campaigns must offer voters genuine policy choices, not fear, exclusion or incitement,” the organisations said, stressing that parties and candidates must take responsibility for the conduct of their officials, agents and supporters.

They also demanded equal access to campaign venues, outdoor advertising spaces and other shared resources, warning that selective denial of access could damage the level playing field and trigger conflict.

The groups called on political parties to resolve internal disputes through lawful mechanisms and urged contestants to pursue electoral complaints through appropriate institutions and the courts rather than intimidation or violence.

On security, the organisations asked the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to publish a coordinated election-security framework covering threat assessment, risk mitigation, command responsibility, rules of engagement, protection of vulnerable communities, rapid response and complaints mechanisms.

They stressed that security personnel must act impartially, use force only where lawful and strictly necessary, and “never serve as instruments of partisan coercion.”

The groups also urged the media to provide equitable and issue-based coverage, distinguish news reports from paid or sponsored content, verify viral claims before amplification, label manipulated media and correct errors prominently.

They called for election reporting to be made accessible in major local languages and, where practicable, to persons with disabilities.

Religious, traditional and community leaders were similarly urged to use their influence to promote equal citizenship, reject collective blame and direct followers to reliable election information rather than endorse violence, exclusion or coercion.

The organisations also called on the judiciary to determine pre-election and post-election disputes within constitutional and statutory timelines, publish reasoned decisions promptly and apply procedural rules consistently.

They said, “Justice must be both done and seen to be done,” stressing that consistent, timely and well-reasoned adjudication was necessary to strengthen confidence in electoral justice.

The civil society groups also urged themselves to improve coordination in election observation and civic education, verify claims before advocacy, protect observer independence and report findings consistently across parties and regions.

They warned that the credibility of the 2027 election would depend on decisions taken well before polling day.

“INEC, political parties, security agencies, the media, community leaders, the judiciary and civil society must therefore state what they will do, when they will do it and how Nigerians can assess their progress,” they said.