INEC to decide next week on s’court judgment, says some parties may not field candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will convene a meeting next week to decide on the implications of the September 24 Supreme Court judgment on the nomination of candidates for the 2027 elections.

Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Trust Television’s Daily Politics programme, Mohammed Haruna, INEC national commissioner for information and voter education, acknowledged that many people have been apprehensive since the ruling.

Haruna noted that the judgement has far-reaching implications for the upcoming elections.

“Definitely, we will meet next week to take a decision on it. I know a lot of people are anxious, not just the candidates themselves; even the public is anxious,” he said.

“The supreme court has strengthened our hands and said we were right to have insisted that any party that wants to contest must submit the list of its membership three weeks before their primaries.

“So, we really need to sit down and look at it. By next week, we will do that and take a decision.”

When asked if some of the parties could be allowed to change candidates and submit fresh names, Haruna said it was too late for them to do so.

“It’s too late to do anything. The parties won’t even be able to contest. It’s like you committed an offence and you want to come and benefit,” he said.

Citing previous cases in Zamfara and Plateau states, Haruna said parties that failed to comply with the law could not subsequently benefit from the process.

“The law was very clear: once you do that kind of thing, you cannot benefit. You can only benefit from it if you are able to substitute a candidate,” he said.

“But depending on when we look at the law and take a decision, some parties will not be able to field even governorship candidates.”

BACK STORY

A seven-member panel of the apex court had upheld an appeal filed by INEC and restored sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.

In its lead judgement delivered by Adamu Jauro, the supreme court held that the provisions voided by the court of appeal in July were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.

Since the ruling was delivered, there have been concerns over its implications for political parties and candidates ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly regarding party membership registers and candidate nominations.

Although the judgement does not name or disqualify any individual candidate in the 2027 elections, the restored provisions could become relevant in any legal challenge to a party’s nomination process where compliance with the requirements is disputed.

Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act 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) states that a party cannot use any membership register other than the one submitted to the electoral commission for its primaries, congresses and conventions.

Under section 77(7), a party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated period cannot field a candidate for the election.