Electoral Act: Senate cuts election notice period to 300days over Ramadan concerns

The Senate on Tuesday amended Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026, reducing the notice period for general elections from 360 days to 300 days in a move aimed at preventing the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly polls from coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The upper chamber rescinded its earlier passage of the bill and recommitted it to the Committee of the Whole after concerns that the 360-day requirement could compel the electoral body to fix election dates within the Ramadan period.

Rising under Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Leader, moved the motion for reconsideration.

He explained that the previous provision requiring elections to be held “not later than 360 days before the expiration of the term of office” could inadvertently affect the 2027 timetable.

Read also: Senate flags Ramadan clash in electoral act, reconsiders notice to INEC

“Upon critical review of the passed bill, the 360-day notice requirement prescribed in Clause 28 could result in the scheduling of the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections during the Ramadan period,” Bamidele said.

To address the concern, the Senate adopted a new version of Clause 28, which now provides 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.”

Bamidele noted that holding elections during Ramadan “could adversely affect voter turnout, logistical coordination, stakeholder participation, and the overall inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.”

Read also: Electoral Act: Senate reconsiders 360days election notice to INEC

The amendment followed consultations between the leadership of the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which had earlier announced February 20, 2027 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, with governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls slated for March 6, 2027.

Simon Lalong, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, who seconded the motion, explained that Joash Amupitan did not deliberately fixed the election dates to conflict with the holy month of Ramadan as being speculated in many quarters.

“It was the immediate past INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, that actually set the template for the election dates from 2019 to 2031,” Lalong stated.