Under the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026, Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) now face a minimum two-year jail term if they withhold vital electoral documents or fail to comply with statutory requirements tied to the conduct of elections, lawmakers and legal experts say.

The provision, part of broader reforms in the 2026 Act signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, imposes strict accountability measures on election officials to discourage malpractice and enhance transparency in the electoral process. Under Section 74(1) of the law RECs must release a certified true copy of requested documents within 24 hours of payment and failure to do so can attract a minimum of two years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele highlighted the sanction while outlining key features of the legislation in Abuja on Sunday noting that the reforms aim to strengthen electoral credibility and reduce disputes by holding officials to clearer standards of conduct. RECs are responsible for overseeing election administration in each state and managing processes such as collation distribution and release of results, making compliance with documentation requests central to fair polling and post-election verification.

The Act also stiffens penalties for other electoral offences, including vote buying impersonation and result manipulation, which now carry a possible two-year jail term or fines between ₦500,000 and ₦2 million on conviction. Additionally, Section 60(6) prescribes six months’ imprisonment or a fine of ₦500,000 for presiding officers who intentionally frustrate the electronic transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

Lawmakers say the inclusion of tougher sanctions was designed to deter misconduct at every level of election administration as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections, which lawmakers believe can benefit from stronger institutional checks and enhanced enforcement mechanisms. Critics of the process had previously raised concerns about electoral integrity and results manipulation, making the new law’s penalties a key talking point among political stakeholders and civic groups.

Electoral experts say the strengthened legal framework is intended to ensure that officials who fail to uphold procedural transparency can be held accountable in a court of law rather than merely face administrative sanctions, reflecting rising demands for credible and transparent elections.