The Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed the successful conduct of elections for the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory, with voting held on Saturday 21 February 2026.
The polls covered the election of Area Council chairmen and 62 councillorship positions. Results from all councils were announced late on Saturday, except Kuje Area Council, where the final outcome was declared at about 3.30 pm on Sunday 22 February 2026.
INEC commended residents of the FCT for maintaining peace and cooperating with electoral officials throughout the exercise. Data from the Commission Election Operations Dashboard showed that about 45 percent of polling units had opened by 8.30 am on election day, while full deployment was achieved by 10.00 am.
The Commission acknowledged that some voters experienced difficulty locating their polling units. It rejected claims that voters were moved to new or different locations, explaining that no voter migration took place. Instead, INEC said it created split polling units in centres with more than 1,250 registered voters in order to reduce congestion. These split units were located a short distance from the original units within the same premises.
INEC recalled that the Register of Voters was displayed at designated centres, including split polling units, four days before the election. This allowed voters to verify their details and confirm polling unit locations. The Commission also said reminder text messages and emails were sent to affected voters between Wednesday 18 and Saturday 21 February 2026 to guide them to the correct voting locations.
As of 2.00 pm on Sunday 22 February 2026, INEC reported that 93 percent of polling unit results had been uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal. Members of the public were advised to access results from all six Area Councils through the portal.
While expressing concern about voter apathy, the Commission noted a clear improvement compared to the previous Area Council election. In 2022, a total of 148,685 voters participated, representing 9.4 percent of registered voters. In the 2026 poll, more than 239,210 voters cast ballots, accounting for about 15 percent of the 1,680,315 registered voters in the FCT.
INEC attributed the delay in the Kuje Area Council results to the challenging terrain in Kabi ward, which slowed the final collation process.
The Commission thanked the electorate for their participation and cooperation, stating that the turnout across the six Area Councils reflected continued public confidence in the democratic process and the electoral system.
The statement was signed by Wilfred Ifogah, Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity.
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