2027: Anxiety mounts as INEC awaits Supreme Court judgment on party membership rules

There is growing uncertainty among political parties and candidates affected by the recent Supreme Court ruling as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to publish the final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

The electoral commission is expected to meet with political parties and other stakeholders on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, but has yet to disclose how it intends to apply the Supreme Court’s latest decision.

INEC said it had applied for a certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment and expected to receive the document on Monday, a day before its scheduled national engagement with stakeholders and World Press Conference.

The commission’s National Commissioner in charge of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, told Vanguard that INEC had not received the certified judgment as of Sunday.

“The commission is yet to receive the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgement. Hopefully we will do so tomorrow, (Monday). Until we do so and deliberate on it we cannot make any pronouncement on the issue,” Haruna said.

The Director of Voter Education and Publicity at INEC, Victoria Eta-Messi, also confirmed that the commission had applied for the document.

“The Commission had applied for the CTC and an opinion will be offered on the import of the latest Judgment of the Supreme Court,” she said.

INEC had, on September 23, announced plans to hold a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders Engagement on Tuesday, October 6, as part of its preparations for the 2027 general election.

However, the commission has not stated whether the Supreme Court ruling will be specifically addressed during the engagement or when it will issue its position on the matter.

The uncertainty follows the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 ruling on Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026.

The apex court set aside the July 16, 2026 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had invalidated several restrictive provisions of the Electoral Act on constitutional grounds.

The Supreme Court’s decision restored the requirement for political parties to submit verified membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before conducting a primary, congress or convention.

Under the provision, only individuals whose names appear on the membership register submitted to INEC are eligible to vote or contest at the relevant party process.

Several political parties had conducted congresses and primaries while the Court of Appeal judgment remained in effect.

The Supreme Court’s subsequent ruling has therefore raised questions about the status of some of those processes and the candidates that emerged from them.

Opposition parties are reportedly reviewing the membership registers submitted to INEC against the dates on which some candidates defected to their respective parties, amid concerns over the potential implications of the Supreme Court ruling.

The situation has also left questions over how INEC will handle candidates whose names have already been published.

For now, the commission has maintained that it must first obtain and study the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgment before making a formal pronouncement.

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