Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on Electoral Act 2026 Dispute

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved judgment in an appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal to nullify portions of the Electoral Act 2026 ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The disputed provisions are Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2), which deal with political party membership registers and the procedure for selecting candidates for elective positions.

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had, on July 16, declared the provisions invalid, holding that they were inconsistent with Sections 221 and 222 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

A three-member panel of the appellate court unanimously held that the Constitution protects the authority of political parties to determine who they sponsor for elections.

The decision followed an appeal filed by the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) against the dismissal of its suit challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 dealing with party membership registers and primary elections.

Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act provides that only individuals whose names appear on a political 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) prohibits political parties from using a register other than the one submitted to INEC for their primaries, congresses and conventions.

Under Section 77(7), a political party that fails to submit its membership register within the prescribed period is barred from fielding candidates for an election.

Section 84(2), meanwhile, provides that political parties are to nominate candidates for elective offices through direct primaries or consensus.

The Court of Appeal, in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, found merit in the ZLP’s case and nullified the affected provisions.

Dissatisfied with the decision, INEC appealed to the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn the judgment.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, the parties adopted their respective final briefs in the appeal, marked SC/CR/495/2026.

INEC urged the seven-member panel of the apex court to allow its appeal and reverse the Court of Appeal’s decision.

The ZLP, however, urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal for lacking merit.

The panel, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, reserved judgment after hearing the arguments from the parties.

The court said the date for judgment would be communicated to the parties.

The dispute originated at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Justice Mohammed Umar, on May 5, dismissed the ZLP’s suit for lacking merit.

The party subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal, asking it to determine whether the challenged provisions of the Electoral Act could override powers granted to political parties under the 1999 Constitution.

ZLP also asked the appellate court to determine whether the provisions amounted to an attempt by the Electoral Act to interfere with the internal affairs of political parties, including the manner in which they conduct their primaries and nominate candidates.

In its judgment, the Court of Appeal relied on constitutional provisions governing eligibility for political offices and the qualification of political parties and candidates.

The court noted that Sections 177 and 182 of the Constitution already provide conditions relating to the qualification and disqualification of political parties and candidates for elections.

It held that a subsidiary legislation could not introduce additional conditions capable of disqualifying an individual who had already met the requirements prescribed by the Constitution.

The Supreme Court’s eventual decision will determine whether the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 remain in force ahead of the 2027 elections or whether the Court of Appeal’s decision nullifying them will stand.