The Senate has amended the notice period for the 2027 elections to 300 days instead of the 360.
The amendment was to take care of the concerns raised that the 2027 elections will fall during the Ramadan.
INEC had announced February 20, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, with governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls scheduled for March 6, 2027.
The upper chamber reconvened Tuesday for an emergency plenary session and dissolved into the Committee of the Whole for rescission and recommittal of the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2026, to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adjust its election timetable.
The Senate amended for the second time in one week, the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026, rescinding the action it earlier took last week when it passed the bill, readjusting the 360-day notice requirement prescribed in Clause 28 to ensure that the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections do not fall within the period of Ramadan.
The upper legislative chamber also, for the second time in a week, and after a call for division, rejected “real-time” electronic transmission of election results, favouring the manual mode where the network fails.
According to the Senate, the adjustment of the timetable by the electoral umpire has become imperative against the backdrop that the coincidence of the elections with the Ramadan period could adversely affect voter turnout, logistical coordination, stakeholder engagement, and the overall inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.
The move was sequel to a motion for rescission and recommittal by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who cited the need to address fundamental discrepancies and logistical concerns regarding the 2027 general election timetable.
Coming under Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Rules, Bamidele explained that the primary focus of the emergency session was to review Clause 28 of the bill, which currently mandates a 360-day notice for elections.
Order 52(6) reads: “It shall be out of order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which the Senate has come to a conclusion during the current Session except upon a substantive motion for rescission.”
Order 1(b) reads: “In all cases not provided for in this Standing Order, or by Sessional or other Orders or practice of the Senate, the Senate shall by Resolution regulate its procedure.”
The amendment was effected on Tuesday during the clause-by-clause consideration of the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The Senate amended Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, slashing the notice of election requirement by 60 days, from 360 days to 300 days, leaving INEC the flexibility to fix election dates between December 2026 and January 2027.
The amended Clause 28 states that: “The Commission shall, not later than 300 days before the day appointed for holding of an election under this Bill, publish a notice in each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory stating the date of the election and appointing the place at which nomination papers are to be delivered.
“The notice shall be published in each constituency in respect of which an election is to be held. In the case of a by-election, the Commission shall, not later than 14 days before the date appointed for the election, publish a notice stating the date of the election.
“There shall not be substitution of candidates in a by-election except where a candidate of a political party in a by-election dies; the party shall submit to the Commission the name of its substitute candidate within seven days of the death of the candidate in the form prescribed by the Commission.”
The amendment was effected on Tuesday during the clause-by-clause consideration of the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill after the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, raised a motion on the rescission and recommittal of the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2026.
