Less than one hour before the close of voting in the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Elections, thousands of eligible lawyers remain unable to cast their ballots, raising fresh concerns about voter disenfranchisement and the credibility of the electoral process.
According to figures displayed on the official election portal, only 25,682 of the 82,172 accredited voters had successfully voted with less than an hour remaining before the scheduled close of polls. The turnout represents approximately 31.3 per cent of eligible voters, leaving more than 56,000 lawyers yet to vote.
The low participation comes after a day marked by persistent technical difficulties, following an earlier cyberattack on the Electronic Voting Service Provider (EVSP), which delayed the commencement of voting by several hours.
Throughout the day, lawyers across different branches of the Association took to social media and other communication platforms to report their inability to access the voting portal. Many complained of repeated authentication failures, delayed or non-delivery of One-Time Passwords (OTPs), login errors, and intermittent downtime that allegedly prevented them from voting despite several attempts.
The situation has fuelled concerns that a significant number of eligible members may ultimately be denied the opportunity to participate in choosing the Association’s next national leadership.
Several candidates and their supporters have also questioned the integrity of the electoral process, citing earlier allegations of irregularities, including the delayed commencement of voting, technical glitches, discrepancies in vote timestamps, and claims that vote tallies continued to increase even during periods when the platform was reportedly inaccessible.
Some candidates had earlier called for the suspension and postponement of the election to allow for an independent audit of the platform, but the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) proceeded with the exercise after restoring the system.
As the countdown to the close of polls continues, many lawyers remain hopeful that the ECNBA will take urgent steps to ensure every eligible voter has a fair opportunity to participate, while others have called on the Committee to consider extending the voting period in light of the widespread technical disruptions experienced throughout the day.
The ECNBA has consistently maintained that it remains committed to conducting a free, fair and credible election and has continued to issue updates through its official communication channels.
With voting expected to end shortly, attention is now focused on whether the Committee will allow the election to conclude as scheduled or respond to growing calls for measures to address the large number of lawyers who remain unable to vote.