The NGE’s electoral reform proposal

The call by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) for far-reaching constitutional and electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections, including a requirement that presidential candidates secure at least 50 per cent of votes cast, with a run-off where no candidate meets the threshold, appears to be a mixed grill.

Although the NGE’s proposal is germane and quite persuasive, its timing and timeframe is a tall order. Coming barely three months to the presidential and National Assembly elections billed for January 16, 2027, it will be almost impossible to meet the guild’s demands.

In the recommendations, which were contained in the communiqué issued at the end of the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2026), held in Enugu from September 24 to 26, 2026, the guild also called for electoral disputes to be resolved within prescribed timelines and, preferably, before the swearing-in of declared winners.

The conference examined challenges confronting Nigeria’s electoral democracy, including voter apathy, electoral insecurity, declining public confidence, misinformation, disinformation, and emerging threats posed by artificial intelligence ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to the NGE, the ballot remained the principal instrument through which citizens exercise their sovereign will, but its value depended on credible information, public confidence and the assurance that votes would be properly counted and respected.

The guild identified poor governance, electoral violence and intimidation, administrative shortcomings, declining public confidence and concerns about the relationship between electoral outcomes and subsequent judicial decisions as factors contributing to voter apathy. 

It also expressed concern over perceptions in some sections of the public that judicial interventions in electoral disputes could displace outcomes recorded at the ballot box.

The NGE, however, stressed the importance of judicial independence and called for electoral adjudication that is timely, transparent, predictable and impartial, while ensuring that genuine electoral irregularities are properly addressed. 

The guild, therefore, called for electoral disputes to be resolved within appropriate timelines and “preferably before the swearing-in of declared winners.”

It also recommended considering a constitutional threshold for presidential elections, with a run-off if the candidate with the highest number of votes fails to secure at least 50 per cent of the votes cast.

The guild further called for reforms to the process of appointing the chairman, national commissioners and resident electoral commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as state electoral commissioners.

It advocated a review of limitations on the ability of ordinary voters to challenge electoral results and called for a constitutional framework that would permit independent candidacy. The NGE identified generative artificial intelligence, deepfakes, voice cloning, and automated networks as major emerging threats to the integrity of electoral information.

The guild warned that synthetic content could be produced and distributed rapidly in the form of fabricated election results, cloned voices of public officials, forged documents, manipulated result sheets and fake reports attributed to established media organisations.

“The greatest danger is not merely the circulation of individual falsehoods but the broader erosion of public trust when citizens become unable to distinguish authentic information from fabricated content,” the communiqué stated.

The guild urged newsrooms to institutionalise fact-checking and verification systems and integrate digital verification, deepfake detection and forensic tools into their editorial workflows.

It also reaffirmed the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage (Revised 2022), jointly endorsed by the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union and Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.

The conference reaffirmed that the media should remain “pro-Nigeria, pro-Ballot and pro-People”, rather than align itself with any political party. 

It stressed that the credibility of Nigeria’s democracy ultimately depends on an electoral process in which citizens can make informed choices, cast their votes freely and have confidence that their votes will be accurately counted and respected.

It is instructive that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had in February 2026 signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Amendment) Bill into law, following the passage of the bill by the National Assembly after months of deliberations.

As relevant as the NGE’s proposal for constitutional amendment and electoral reform is, it is coming a little too late. The NGE should have been more proactive by making its recommendations during the intense debate that culminated in the passage and subsequent signing of the Electoral 2026, amended, Act.

Nevertheless, Blueprint.ng commends the NGE for its comprehensive and pragmatic recommendations aimed at strengthening the nation’s democracy. As the fourth estate of the realm, after the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, nothing less is expected from the body of editors.

This newspaper urges the NGE to continue to effectively perform its role as the watchdog of society, especially before, during and after the 2027 elections. Editors have the sacred constitutional duty not to suppress the truth while holding the government to account.

Editors must also put INEC on its toes in order to protect the sanctity of the ballot and ensure that every vote counts in the forthcoming general elections. This is particularly pertinent for the presidential election, which has been the most contested, the most litigated and the most controversial over the years.