The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called for significant changes to the country's electoral system, including a 50% threshold for presidential elections and the resolution of electoral disputes before the swearing-in of declared winners. This was part of a communiqué issued at the end of the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2026), held in Enugu from September 24 to 26. The conference had the theme, "The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive."
The NGE also advocated for reforms to the appointment of key officials in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Electoral Commissioners. The Guild examined the challenges facing Nigeria's electoral democracy, particularly artificial intelligence, misinformation, disinformation, electoral insecurity, and declining public confidence in the electoral process. Over 500 editors, publishers, and senior media practitioners attended the conference, alongside political, traditional, religious, academic, regulatory, and development-sector leaders.
The Guild noted that voter apathy is influenced by poor governance, electoral violence and intimidation, administrative shortcomings, declining public confidence, and concerns over the relationship between electoral outcomes and subsequent judicial decisions. The NGE expressed concern that judicial interventions in some electoral disputes have created perceptions that court decisions can displace outcomes recorded at the ballot box. However, it stressed the need to respect judicial independence.
On presidential elections, the NGE recommended consideration of an appropriate constitutional threshold and provision for a run-off where the candidate with the highest number of votes fails to secure up to 50% of votes cast. The Guild also called for the resolution of electoral disputes within appropriate timelines, preferably before the swearing-in of declared winners. Additionally, it advocated for a review of limitations on ordinary voters seeking to challenge electoral results.
The NGE identified emerging technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence, deepfakes, voice cloning, and automated networks, as major threats to electoral information integrity. The Guild urged newsrooms to institutionalize fact-checking and verification systems and integrate digital verification, deepfake detection, and forensic tools into their editorial workflows. It also urged news organizations to adopt the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage (Revised 2022).
The conference endorsed the principle, "Inform, Don't Amplify", urging newsrooms to identify terrorist claims as claims until independently verified and avoid reproducing propaganda, recruitment messages, slogans, or graphic material except where editorially justified. The Guild also called for evidence-based journalism that neither exaggerates failures nor suppresses verified achievements and developments. On election security, the NGE said the safety of journalists must form part of the broader security of the electoral process.
The NGE urged INEC to sustain nationwide readiness assessments, strengthen cybersecurity and electoral technology partnerships, ensure the technical integrity of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and protect the institutional independence of the commission. The Guild stressed that all technology deployed during elections must remain subject to human oversight, transparency, accountability, and legal verification. Vice President Kashim Shettima participated virtually as Special Guest of Honour, while Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, was the Chief Host.
Key points
- The Nigerian Guild of Editors calls for a 50% threshold for presidential elections.
- The Guild advocates for reforms to the appointment of key officials in INEC and State Electoral Commissioners.
- The NGE urges newsrooms to institutionalize fact-checking and verification systems to combat emerging threats to electoral information integrity.
