Civil Society Groups Demand Urgent Action Ahead of 2027 Elections
By Pan Afric Reporters
A coalition of civil society organisations has called on the Federal Government, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, security agencies, the media, religious and community leaders, the judiciary and other stakeholders to take urgent and verifiable steps to safeguard the credibility and peaceful conduct of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The call was contained in an open memorandum dated October 2, 2026, and endorsed by the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), International Press Centre (IPC), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), TAF Africa, The Kukah Centre (TKC) and Yiaga Africa.
The organisations said decisions being taken ahead of the elections would directly affect public confidence in the electoral process, warning that “there is little room for avoidable delay, weak coordination or inadequate public information.”
They urged the Federal Government to ensure timely funding for INEC’s planning, procurement, personnel training, logistics and contingency arrangements, while also facilitating coordinated security preparations to protect voters, election officials, observers and electoral materials without compromising the independence of the electoral process.
The groups further called for transparent and merit-based appointments to vacant National Commissioner positions, stressing that nominees should possess “proven integrity, relevant expertise, sound judgement and the technical and leadership capacity required for election administration.”
On INEC, the coalition demanded regular public reports showing measurable evidence of operational readiness, including funding and procurement milestones, personnel recruitment and training, logistics, deployment plans and contingency arrangements for areas affected by insecurity or infrastructure challenges.
It also urged the electoral commission to explain clearly how the Electoral Act 2026 and its regulations would govern voter accreditation, result management, collation and publication, while publishing the outcome of stress tests on key electoral technologies, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing portal. The groups said citizens should be able to inspect evidence because “confidence must rest on evidence that citizens can inspect.”
The coalition called on political parties and candidates to reject hate speech, vote buying, intimidation, coercion and other forms of electoral malpractice. It also urged parties to provide genuine policy choices and ensure that their officials, agents and supporters comply with electoral rules and peace agreements.
Security agencies were urged to develop and publish a coordinated election-security framework covering threat assessment, risk mitigation, command responsibility, lawful rules of engagement, protection of vulnerable communities, rapid response and complaints mechanisms.
“Personnel must act impartially, use force only where lawful and strictly necessary, and never serve as instruments of partisan coercion,” the organisations said.
The memorandum also tasked the media with providing fair, accurate and issue-based election coverage, verifying viral claims before amplification, clearly distinguishing sponsored content from editorial material and promptly correcting errors.
Religious, traditional and community leaders were similarly urged to use their influence to promote equal citizenship, reject collective blame and direct citizens to reliable election information rather than encourage violence, exclusion or coercion.
The groups called on the judiciary to determine electoral disputes within constitutional and statutory timelines, publish reasoned decisions promptly and consistently protect judicial independence, stressing that “justice must be both done and seen to be done.”
They also urged civil society organisations to strengthen coordination in election observation and civic education, verify claims before advocacy and maintain transparency and accountability in their own activities.
The coalition concluded that the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend largely on actions taken 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,” the organisations said.
