Supreme Court Verdict: Erring parties will not field candidates – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned political parties that they risk losing the right to field candidates in the 2027 elections if the names of such candidates are not contained in the membership registers submitted to the commission.

INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, gave the warning while speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme on Wednesday.

His comments followed the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 judgment restoring Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.

The apex court had overturned an earlier Court of Appeal decision that declared the provisions unconstitutional, thereby restoring the Federal High Court judgment which had dismissed a challenge to the provisions.

Under the restored provisions, only members whose names appear in a party’s membership register submitted to INEC within the prescribed period are eligible to participate in the party’s primaries, while parties are required to use the register submitted to the commission for their primaries, congresses and conventions. Section 77(7) also provides that a party that fails to submit its register within the stipulated period is not eligible to field a candidate.

Haruna said parties would not be allowed to substitute candidates affected by violations of the membership register requirements, arguing that such an arrangement would allow parties to benefit from their own breach of the law.

“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it. You remember cases that we had of some in Zamfara, you remember Plateau? The same thing.

“And the law was very clear. Once you do that kind of thing, you cannot benefit from it. You are benefiting from it, if you are able to substitute a candidate,” he said.

The commissioner said the implication could extend across different levels of elections, depending on INEC’s final legal interpretation of the judgment.

“Some parties may not be able to finish with even governorship candidates,” he said.

Haruna explained that INEC had interviewed candidates across the various elective positions and examined their membership status.

“All the candidates, all the way to the Houses of Assembly, we interviewed them. If their names are not on the party register, they were not members of the party at the time that they contested for those tickets,” he said.

He, however, said INEC was still reviewing the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment and consulting its legal experts before making a definitive pronouncement on its implementation.

The commissioner said the commission had to exercise caution because of the possibility of forged court documents.

“You can’t be too careful with these things because even when you see copies and they tell you it’s a CTC, it may be forged. We’ve seen instances where people have even gone, have the audacity to forge a Supreme Court judgment,” he said.

Haruna said INEC had received the certified copy of the judgment and expected to make a definite pronouncement after completing its legal review. Reports indicate that the commission received the CTC on Tuesday and commenced its review.

INEC Raises Concern Over Campaign Threats

The INEC commissioner also expressed concern over the use of threats during political campaigns ahead of the 2027 elections.

He said the commission was worried by statements and actions from political actors that could create fear among participants in the electoral process.

“Those kind of things, even if it’s a minority, it’s a cause for concern, because nobody should be threatened at all,” Haruna said.

He added that such statements were not reassuring and should concern all stakeholders, including the ruling party.

Meanwhile, Haruna said INEC was working to secure the funds required to conduct the 2027 elections, stressing that the commission no longer had the luxury of time.

The Supreme Court’s restoration of the disputed Electoral Act provisions has placed renewed focus on political parties’ membership registers and the validity of candidates emerging from their nomination processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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