The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday struck down key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 concerning political parties' primary elections and membership registers. The affected sections are 77(5), (6), and (7) and 84(2), which were part of the amended Electoral Act signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in February. This ruling comes just six months before the 2027 general elections.
Court's Ruling and Constitutional Conflict
A three-member bench led by Justice Balkisu Aliyu delivered the unanimous decision, holding that the disputed sections conflicted with sections 221 and 222 of the Nigerian constitution. The court stated that these provisions interfered with political parties' constitutional right to decide whom to nominate for elections. The appeal was brought by the Zenith Party in the case marked CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the respondent.
Zenith Party had challenged the May 5 decision of Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed its suit questioning the constitutionality of the provisions. The party argued that the contested sections unlawfully interfered with the internal administration of political parties and curtailed their power to determine membership and nominate candidates.
Details of the Nullified Sections
Section 77(5) stipulated that only persons whose names appear in the register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before primaries, congresses, or conventions could vote. Sub-section (6) prohibited parties from using any register other than the one submitted to INEC for these activities. Sub-section (7) barred parties from fielding candidates if they failed to submit the membership register on time.
Section 84(2) limited candidate nomination methods to direct primaries or consensus. The court found these provisions unconstitutional for vesting excessive control over parties' internal affairs in INEC and unduly interfering with candidate nomination.
Justice Nyesom-Wike's Lead Judgment
Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, who delivered the lead judgment, struck down section 77(6) for giving INEC excessive control over parties' internal affairs. Section 77(7) was nullified because it could deprive parties of their constitutional right to sponsor candidates. Section 84(2) was declared unconstitutional for limiting nomination methods, amounting to undue legislative interference.
Justice Nyesom-Wike clarified that only the specific subsections were affected, not the entire sections. The mandatory requirement for parties to submit their membership register to INEC remains intact; only the timeframe for submission was struck down.
Related Ruling on INEC Guidelines
On the same day, a separate Court of Appeal panel overturned another decision by Justice Umar that had invalidated INEC's guidelines for the 2027 elections.
