The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has called on the National Assembly to introduce a treason-related offence for organised electoral fraud, warning that the deliberate manipulation of elections and fraudulent seizure of the people’s mandate constitute an attack on Nigeria’s constitutional order ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The political parties’ umbrella body also demanded an independent forensic audit of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as the criminal investigation and prosecution of personnel implicated in registration irregularities recently uncovered by the commission.
The demands followed disclosures by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, that the commission had removed 1,608,660 invalid voter registration records from the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, expunged the records of 873 verified deceased persons and identified 54 personnel across ten states allegedly involved in registration irregularities.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, and made available to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the CNPP described the revelations as disturbing evidence of institutional weaknesses capable of undermining the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
It said the figures should not be dismissed as routine administrative corrections but treated as serious warning signals about the vulnerability of an institution entrusted with protecting Nigerians’ constitutional right to freely elect their leaders.
The organisation expressed particular concern that electoral personnel could allegedly circumvent established procedures, manipulate registration processes and abuse provisions designed to accommodate exceptional cases without effective internal safeguards detecting the misconduct.
It queried how Nigerians could confidently trust an electoral institution whose own personnel could manipulate critical registration procedures without preventive controls detecting and stopping such actions.
“The CNPP insists that the revelations go beyond the alleged misconduct of individual employees. They expose a potentially deeper institutional failure that INEC must urgently confront,” the statement said.
It argued that a credible electoral commission should have internal controls capable of preventing unauthorised alterations, detecting suspicious registration activities in real time and identifying responsible personnel before irregularities become embedded in the electoral database.
The CNPP also faulted what it described as INEC’s dependence on public complaints, post-registration reviews and subsequent investigations to uncover irregularities that should ordinarily have been detected through its internal monitoring systems.
Regarding the 54 personnel identified across ten states, the organisation insisted that administrative sanctions alone would be inadequate where investigations established deliberate criminal interference with the electoral process.
It demanded that independent investigative and law enforcement authorities establish the extent of their alleged involvement and determine whether they acted independently or operated within wider networks involving political actors, intermediaries or other interests seeking to compromise the electoral system.
“INEC must not be allowed to investigate itself, determine the full extent of its own institutional failures and subsequently resolve potentially criminal conduct through internal disciplinary procedures,” it declared.
The CNPP further urged the commission to publicly explain how the irregularities occurred, why its monitoring mechanisms failed, how long the violations persisted and what accountability measures had been introduced to prevent a recurrence.
On the proposed tougher legislation, the organisation maintained that Nigeria must fundamentally rethink its response to deliberate electoral fraud and the persistent culture of impunity surrounding the manipulation of elections.
It argued that an election was the constitutional instrument through which Nigerians exercised their sovereign authority to determine who governed them, citing Section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, which provides that sovereignty belongs to the people, from whom government derives all its powers and authority.
Consequently, it called on the National Assembly to classify deliberate, organised and large-scale electoral subversion, particularly conspiracies designed to manipulate electoral outcomes or fraudulently install public officeholders, as a treason-related offence or establish a distinct offence of equivalent gravity.
The proposed legislation, however, should distinguish organised criminal electoral subversion from administrative mistakes, genuine procedural errors, legitimate political activities and ordinary electoral disputes, while preserving the constitutional guarantees of fair hearing and due process.
“Our position is clear: Nobody should be allowed to steal the sovereign mandate of millions of Nigerians and face consequences that are weaker than those prescribed for serious attacks against the constitutional order,” the statement added.
The political parties’ body also warned INEC against relying solely on technological interventions to guarantee credible elections, insisting that biometric authentication, artificial intelligence and other digital tools could not substitute for institutional integrity and effective accountability mechanisms.
While acknowledging the commission’s proposed measures, including stronger biometric authentication, application-controlled image capture and an Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework, it argued that technology was only as reliable as the people, procedures and accountability mechanisms governing its deployment.
It consequently demanded independent cybersecurity and integrity assessments of INEC’s digital infrastructure, transparent audit trails and safeguards to ensure that no individual official had unchecked authority to alter, approve or manipulate critical electoral records.
The CNPP further called for independent technical and operational assessments of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other election-related digital infrastructure before the 2027 elections.
It maintained that electoral manipulation could occur beyond election day, including during voter registration, party primaries, candidate nomination, ballot production, accreditation, voting, collation, transmission and declaration of results.
The organisation also urged INEC to address inherited irregularities dating back to previous registration exercises, particularly those from 2011 to 2023, noting that the latest clean-up had not resolved all outstanding problems in the national voters’ register.
Among other demands, it called for transparent disclosure of the nature of the irregularities, independent verification of the voters’ register by political parties, civil society organisations and qualified technical experts, as well as stronger real-time fraud detection mechanisms.
On political party administration, the CNPP urged INEC to demonstrate impartiality and consistency in handling politically sensitive matters, particularly disputes involving party leadership and judicial decisions.
It said compliance with court orders should not become an excuse for administrative uncertainty, unexplained delays or selective interpretation of judicial decisions, urging the commission to establish clear procedures for receiving, authenticating and implementing court orders affecting political parties.
The organisation also asked the National Assembly to revisit INEC’s proposal for early voting by essential election-duty personnel, including journalists, electoral officials and security personnel, whose professional responsibilities might prevent them from voting at their designated polling units on election day.
It said a legally sound framework should guarantee their participation without compromising ballot secrecy, transparency and electoral security.
Warning that Nigeria could not afford another compromised electoral cycle, the CNPP insisted that the credibility of the 2027 general elections must be secured before election day rather than negotiated after the people’s mandate had been stolen.
“Public confidence is not secured through press conferences, declarations of commitment or announcements of new technological interventions. It is earned through demonstrated integrity, transparency, preventive capacity and accountability for wrongdoing,” it said.
The organisation called on INEC, the National Assembly, law enforcement agencies, political parties, civil society organisations and Nigerians committed to democracy to support comprehensive electoral reforms and ensure that those responsible for deliberate electoral manipulation were held accountable.
It added: “The ballot is the people’s instrument of sovereignty. Stealing it is an attack on the people, an assault on democracy and a subversion of the constitutional order.”
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