INEC Denies Voter Migration During 2026 FCT Area Council Polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified that no voter migration was carried out during the Saturday, February 21, 2026 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following concerns raised over split polling units.

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In a press release issued on Tuesday, the Commission said although the election was conducted successfully, some voters experienced difficulty locating their designated polling units on Election Day.

INEC, however, dismissed claims that voters were moved to new polling units shortly before the election, stating categorically that no such exercise took place in 2026.

According to the Commission, the restructuring of polling units being referenced occurred in February 2022 under its Expansion of Voters’ Access to Polling Units initiative. The exercise led to the creation of over 56,000 additional polling units nationwide, increasing the total number from 119,972 to more than 176,000.

To populate the new units, INEC said 6.7 million voters were redistributed from about 12,000 congested polling units to roughly 17,000 less congested units across the country.

In the FCT, the Commission disclosed that 411 polling units were decongested, with approximately 580,000 voters redistributed to 1,156 polling units.

INEC explained that the split polling units mentioned in recent discussions were also created in 2022, not in 2026. It described split polling units as additional voting points equipped with separate BVAS devices and deployed within large polling units with more than 1,250 registered voters to reduce overcrowding and improve the voting process.

“These split units are located only a few metres away from the original polling units and remain within the same premises,” the Commission stated, adding that the arrangement did not alter voters’ registration status.

INEC further revealed that during a mock election conducted in the FCT, it observed that some voters migrated in 2022 were still experiencing difficulty identifying their polling units. As a result, the Commission sent text messages and emails between February 18 and 21, 2026, to affected voters, indicating their polling locations.

The notifications, it said, were solely reminders to assist voters and did not amount to fresh migration.

The Commission urged voters to verify their polling unit details ahead of elections using its online Polling Unit Locator and to visit their polling locations in advance where possible.

INEC reiterated its commitment to improving electoral service delivery and called on voters to take advantage of available verification platforms to avoid inconvenience during elections.