Supreme Court Ruling Targets Party Eligibility, Not Individual Candidates – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified that the recent Supreme Court judgment on the Electoral Act 2026 did not automatically disqualify individual candidates from contesting the 2027 general elections.

Rather, the judgment relates to the eligibility of political parties to participate in the election and field candidates where they fail to comply with statutory requirements on membership registers and the nomination of candidates.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, made the clarification on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at the commission’s World Press Conference on preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan said the commission had received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment and was currently reviewing its implications.

The Supreme Court had on September 24 restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 after setting aside the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal which had voided the provisions.

The provisions deal principally with political party membership registers and the procedure for nominating candidates for elective offices.

Section 77(5) provides that only members whose names are contained in 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) requires political parties to use the membership register submitted to INEC for their primaries, congresses and conventions.

Section 77(7), however, provides that a political party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated period shall not be eligible to field a candidate for an election.

The Supreme Court, in interpreting the provision, distinguished between the eligibility of a political party to field candidates and the personal qualification or disqualification of an individual candidate.

In its judgment, the apex court held that Section 77 did not itself disqualify an individual member of a political party from contesting a general election.

The practical consequence, according to the court, is that where a political party fails to comply with the statutory requirement, the party may become ineligible to field candidates in the general election.

Speaking on the development, Amupitan said INEC had received complaints and enquiries from political parties, aspirants and the National Assembly concerning the judgment.

He said the commission would study the CTC before taking a position on the implications of the judgment for the 2027 electoral process.

The development has generated concerns among political parties and aspirants whose nominations or membership status could be affected by the enforcement of the restored provisions.

The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has already urged INEC to audit the candidates submitted by political parties and verify whether their names are contained in the relevant membership registers submitted to the commission.

However, the Supreme Court’s interpretation means that any question concerning a particular candidate’s eligibility cannot simply be treated as an automatic consequence of the judgment.

Rather, the circumstances surrounding the candidate’s nomination, the party’s membership register, the date it was submitted to INEC and the conduct of the relevant primary would have to be examined in accordance with the Electoral Act.

Section 84(2) of the Act also provides that political parties shall nominate candidates for elective positions through direct primaries or consensus.

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the disputed provisions, effectively restoring the legal framework governing party membership registers and candidate nomination ahead of the 2027 elections.

With INEC now in possession of the Certified True Copy of the judgment, attention is expected to shift to how the commission will apply the Supreme Court’s interpretation to political parties and candidates already preparing for the 2027 elections.