Supreme Court Restores Electoral Act Rules on Party Primaries

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has restored key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 covering political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates.

The seven-member panel unanimously upheld an appeal by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), overturning the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision that had voided the provisions.

The ruling reinstates Section 84(2), which provides that political parties should nominate candidates through direct primaries or consensus.

The court also restored Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7), which require parties to submit their membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before primaries, congresses or conventions and use the submitted register during those exercises.

A party that fails to meet the membership-register requirement faces the statutory consequence of being unable to field a candidate in an election.

The case followed a legal challenge by the Zenith Labour Party, which had argued that the provisions interfered with the constitutional powers of political parties. The Court of Appeal had earlier agreed with the party, but the Supreme Court has now restored the disputed provisions.

The judgment is expected to shape how political parties handle future primaries, membership records and candidate nominations ahead of subsequent elections.