The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has demanded an independent forensic audit of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the prosecution of officials found culpable in voter registration irregularities and tougher electoral laws to prevent organised electoral fraud ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The coalition described electoral fraud as an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty and constitutional order, warning that the irregularities recently uncovered in the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise could undermine public confidence in the country’s electoral process.
The demands were contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the CNPP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, following disclosures by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, during a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, November 9, 2026.
According to the coalition, INEC disclosed that it had removed 1,608,660 invalid voter registration records, expunged the records of 873 verified deceased persons and identified 54 personnel across ten states allegedly involved in registration irregularities.
Reacting to the revelations, the CNPP said the figures should not be treated as routine administrative corrections, arguing that they raised serious questions about the commission’s internal controls, monitoring systems and capacity to safeguard the integrity of the national voters’ register.
It expressed particular concern over allegations that some electoral personnel deliberately circumvented established registration procedures, describing the development as a major threat to the credibility of the electoral system.
The coalition questioned how Nigerians could confidently trust an electoral institution whose personnel could allegedly manipulate critical registration procedures without effective preventive controls.
It therefore challenged INEC to explain how the irregularities occurred, why its monitoring systems failed to detect them promptly, how long the violations persisted and what measures had been introduced to prevent a recurrence.
The organisation also called for an independent investigation into the 54 personnel identified across ten states, insisting that allegations of criminal manipulation should not be handled exclusively through internal administrative procedures.
It maintained that any official found to have deliberately manipulated electoral records, abused public office or colluded to compromise voter registration must face criminal investigation and prosecution in accordance with the law.
The CNPP further urged investigators to establish whether the alleged misconduct involved individual personnel or wider networks of political actors, intermediaries and other interests seeking to compromise the electoral process.
On INEC’s proposed technological interventions, including stronger biometric authentication, application-controlled photograph capture and an Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework, the CNPP warned that technology alone could not guarantee credible elections.
It argued that technological innovations would remain vulnerable to abuse without independent monitoring, transparent procedures and enforceable accountability mechanisms.
The coalition consequently urged INEC to publish its AI governance framework, subject its digital infrastructure to independent cybersecurity and integrity assessments, establish transparent audit trails and prevent individual officials from exercising unchecked authority over critical electoral records.
It also called for a comprehensive review of inherited irregularities from previous voter registration exercises between 2011 and 2023, noting that the latest clean-up exercise reportedly did not resolve all outstanding problems in the national register.
The organisation insisted that claims of a sanitised voters’ register must be supported by independently verifiable evidence.
It further cautioned that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), despite its importance in strengthening voter accreditation and preventing multiple voting, could not independently guarantee the integrity of the entire electoral process.
According to the CNPP, electoral manipulation could occur at several stages, including voter registration, party primaries, candidate nomination, ballot production, deployment of election materials, accreditation, voting, collation, transmission and declaration of results.
It therefore urged INEC to demonstrate its capacity to prevent, detect and interrupt electoral fraud at every stage of the democratic process.
The CNPP has also called on the National Assembly to undertake comprehensive reforms of existing electoral crime legislation, including consideration of classifying deliberate, organised and large-scale electoral subversion as a treason-related offence or creating a separate offence carrying equivalent gravity.
The coalition argued that elections were the constitutional instruments through which Nigerians exercised their sovereign authority to determine who governs them.
Citing Section 14(2)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that sovereignty belongs to the people, the organisation maintained that anyone who deliberately manipulates election results, compromises electoral officials, falsifies electoral records or conspires to impose public officeholders fraudulently attacks the foundation of constitutional democracy.
It described organised electoral fraud as an unconstitutional seizure of the people’s mandate and an assault on the legitimacy of public authority.
However, the CNPP stressed that any proposed legislation must distinguish deliberate and organised electoral criminality from administrative mistakes, genuine procedural errors, legitimate political activities and ordinary electoral disputes.
It also called for the protection of constitutional guarantees of fair hearing, due process and independent judicial determination.
The coalition maintained that organised electoral fraud involving electoral officials and candidates sponsored by political parties should attract severe legal consequences.
Beyond the voter registration controversy, the CNPP raised concerns over INEC’s handling of politically sensitive party leadership disputes and judicial matters, particularly the controversy involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
While acknowledging INEC’s responsibility to comply with authentic judicial decisions, the coalition said such decisions must be implemented with impartiality, consistency and transparency.
It called on the commission to establish clear and publicly accessible procedures for receiving, authenticating, reviewing and implementing court orders affecting political parties and electoral participation.
The organisation warned against administrative uncertainty, unexplained delays and selective interpretation of judicial decisions, insisting that all political parties must receive equal treatment irrespective of their political influence or relationship with the government.
The CNPP also urged 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 may prevent them from voting at their designated polling units on election day.
It said an appropriate legal framework was necessary to protect the voting rights of such personnel without compromising ballot secrecy, transparency and electoral security.
To safeguard the credibility of the 2027 general elections, the CNPP outlined a series of demands directed at INEC, the National Assembly and relevant law enforcement authorities.
Among its demands are:
An independent forensic and administrative audit of INEC’s voter registration processes, digital infrastructure, internal controls and supervisory mechanisms, covering historical and current registration records, independent criminal investigations into the 54 personnel identified by INEC in connection with registration irregularities, among others.