The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that voter turnout in the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections reached 14 percent — a notable rise from the 9.4 percent recorded in 2022.
Chairmanship and councillorship elections were held on Saturday across the six area councils of Abuja.
In a statement, Wilfred Ifogah, INEC’s Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity, described the turnout as a significant improvement compared to the previous FCT council elections.
INEC reported that 1.68 million voters were registered for the 2026 polls, up from 1.58 million in 2022 — an increase of about 100,000 voters, representing a 6.3 percent growth in the voter register.
Of the 1.68 million registered voters this year, 239,210 cast their ballots, resulting in a turnout of 14.2 percent. By comparison, 148,685 voters participated in the 2022 elections. This marks an increase of 90,510 voters in actual participation — a 61 percent rise over the previous poll.
While many Nigerians and civil society groups praised the peaceful conduct of the elections, concerns were expressed over the still-low level of voter participation.
Despite the improvement, more than 85 percent of registered voters did not vote in the 2026 elections, underscoring persistent concerns about voter apathy in the country.