Movement for Credible Elections Rejects INEC’s 2026 Guidelines, Citing Regulatory Overreach and Result Transmission Ambiguity

The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) rejects INEC’s 2026 guidelines as exclusionary and impractical, calling for mandatory electronic transmission of results.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 25, 2026, 7:27 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Independent

Structural Deficiencies in Electoral Reform

The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has formally challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its newly unveiled 2026 Regulations and Guidelines. In a statement released on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, by Olawale Okunniyi, Head of the National Secretariat, the MCE asserted that the current framework fails to provide the structural transformation necessary to restore public trust. While acknowledging INEC’s intent to improve transparency in party primaries, the MCE contends that "good intentions cannot substitute for sound policy design," labeling the guidelines as a collection of bureaucratic hurdles rather than genuine democratic reforms.

Regulatory Overreach and the Threat to Multi-Party Democracy

A primary concern raised by the MCE is the perceived expansion of INEC’s authority into the internal affairs of political parties. By rigidly regulating candidate selection processes, the MCE argues that INEC is infringing upon the constitutional right to freedom of association. The group aligns with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), warning that these restrictive frameworks could trigger avoidable legal disputes and weaken internal party structures. The MCE suggests that such overregulation risks alienating grassroots participants and could ultimately lead to the erosion of multi-party democracy in Nigeria.

Impractical Requirements and Systemic Exclusion

The MCE has specifically flagged the requirement for political parties to submit comprehensive membership registers—including National Identification Numbers (NIN)—within a compressed timeframe. Given that millions of eligible Nigerians remain outside the national identity database, the MCE views this provision as "systemic exclusion disguised as reform." The group argues that this requirement disproportionately disadvantages smaller political parties and threatens to disenfranchise legitimate members who lack the necessary biometric documentation, further narrowing the democratic space.