2027 Elections: Supreme Court Ruling Reinstates Rules on Party Registers, Candidate Primaries
2027 Elections: Supreme Court Ruling Reinstates Rules on Party Registers, Candidate Primaries
By Akin Alade
ABUJA — The Supreme Court has settled a major legal dispute over provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, restoring rules governing political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro, the apex court allowed the appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and set aside the earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal that had voided parts of the Electoral Act.
The ruling specifically validated Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026. The provisions deal principally with political party membership registers and the procedures parties are required to follow when selecting candidates for elective positions.
Under Section 77(5), only members whose names appear on the membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a party primary, congress or convention are eligible to participate in the exercise. Section 77(6) restricts parties from using a different membership register for such activities, while Section 77(7) provides consequences for parties that fail to submit their registers within the stipulated period.
Section 84(2), meanwhile, provides that political parties shall nominate candidates for elective offices through direct primaries or consensus. The provision had been challenged on the grounds that it allegedly interfered with the constitutional powers of political parties to manage their internal affairs.
The legal battle originated from a suit filed by the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The party challenged the constitutionality of the disputed provisions, but the Federal High Court dismissed the case on May 5, 2026. ZLP subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal.
On July 16, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part and voided the affected provisions, holding that they were inconsistent with constitutional provisions concerning the rights and internal affairs of political parties. INEC subsequently approached the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the appellate court’s decision.
The Supreme Court has now restored the position of the Federal High Court, holding that the challenged provisions of the Electoral Act are not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution. The apex court also awarded N2 million in costs against the Zenith Labour Party.
The ruling is significant for political parties preparing for the 2027 elections because the affected provisions establish statutory requirements around membership registers and candidate nomination processes. Parties will therefore have to organise their primaries and related activities within the framework upheld by the apex court.
The judgment also brings greater clarity to a legal question that had generated uncertainty after the Court of Appeal’s July decision. With the Supreme Court setting aside that judgment, the provisions challenged by ZLP have been restored as part of the legal framework governing the 2027 electoral process.
