The Supreme Court has upheld key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 regulating political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The seven-member panel, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, on Thursday allowed the appeal by the Independent National Electoral Commission and restored the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which had dismissed a constitutional challenge to Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Act.
The apex court ruled that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and awarded N2 million costs against the Zenith Labour Party.
The judgment overturned the July 16 decision of the Court of Appeal, which had declared the disputed provisions unconstitutional.
Under Section 77(5), only members whose names appear on a party’s membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary, congress or convention can participate in the exercise.
Section 77(6) also bars political parties from using a membership register different from the one submitted to INEC for their primaries, congresses and conventions.
More significantly, Section 77(7) provides that a party that fails to submit its membership register within the prescribed period is ineligible to field candidates for an election.
The Supreme Court’s decision also restores Section 84(2), which provides for direct primaries or consensus as the methods for political parties to nominate candidates for elective offices.
The ruling is expected to place greater pressure on political parties to ensure that their membership records and nomination processes comply with the Electoral Act as they prepare for the 2027 elections.
However, a legal practitioner, Dr Y.G. Manjo, cautioned against interpreting the judgment as an automatic disqualification of candidates whose nominations could subsequently be challenged.
Manjo said the Supreme Court had settled the constitutional validity of the provisions but had not determined the validity of individual candidates.
According to him, any challenge to a candidate’s nomination would have to be determined on its own facts, including the membership register submitted by the party, when it was submitted, the date of the primary and whether the correct register was used.
He also cautioned against assuming that the ruling automatically invalidated recent PDP senatorial nominations or substitutions in Kwara State.
Another lawyer, P.D. Pius, said the ruling reinforced the statutory obligations of parties to ensure that members participating in primaries are properly captured in the register submitted to INEC.
He added that parties could face legal challenges where their nomination processes failed to comply with the Act.
Pius further said the restored provisions could have implications for politicians seeking to switch parties shortly before primaries if they had not fulfilled the applicable membership-registration requirements.
However, he stressed that the consequences of any alleged breach would depend on the facts of each case and any challenge brought before a competent court.