National Democratic Congress Abandons Electronic Voting Plan

By Babatunji Wusu

The National Democratic Congress has announced that its upcoming primary elections will start across the country on 28 May 2026. However, the political group will drop its plans to use a digital ballot platform for this voting exercise.

According to local reports, the ruling body shared this update on Wednesday, 27 May, through an official message from its National Leader, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson. The politician explained that strict INEC timetable deadlines and severe time shortages forced them to stay with traditional voting methods. The big choice followed long hours of meetings with top party figures, the selection team, and their main presidential aspirant, Peter Obi.

The leader praised the hard work of the screening panel, which was led by former Ebonyi State Governor Sam Egwu. The group had to manage a massive number of candidates who want to run for office under the party’s banner. Because of the urgent deadlines, the party will allow every person who bought an initial interest form to join the local contests.

However, top bosses sent a stern warning to all members to avoid fighting or causing trouble during the internal party elections. The public message stated: “The party will take serious action against anyone who resorts to violence, threats, intimidation, or disorderly conduct.”

To handle any issues, the group is setting up a special appeal panel. Regular direct voting will happen for State Assembly seats, while larger political roles will hold their voting exercises at local government centers. Dickson promised that this would be the final time they use a manual system, noting: “As I said at the dinner with aspirants, this will be the last primary election in the NDC to be conducted manually.” He asked all members to work closely with security officials and electoral teams to keep the internal party elections completely peaceful and fair.