The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has invalidated four provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 regulating political-party membership registers and the methods parties may adopt in nominating candidates for elections.
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In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel struck down Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Act after finding them inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The appellate court held that the disputed provisions interfered with the constitutional powers of political parties to manage their internal affairs and determine the candidates they would sponsor for elections.
The judgment arose from an appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026, filed by the Zenith Party against the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The panel was led by Justice Balkisu Bello Aliyu, while Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike reportedly delivered the lead judgment.
The Zenith Party approached the appellate court after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed its suit on May 5, 2026, for lacking merit.
The party had challenged the constitutionality of provisions of the Electoral Act dealing with membership registers, eligibility to participate in party primaries and the procedures parties could use in selecting candidates.
It asked the Court of Appeal to determine whether the contested provisions of the Electoral Act could override the powers granted to political parties by the Constitution.
The party also argued that the provisions amounted to an attempt to take control of the internal processes through which political parties determine their membership and nominate candidates for elections.
Section 77(5) provides that only party members whose names appear in the relevant membership register are eligible to vote or be voted for during party primaries, congresses and conventions.
Section 77(6) prohibits a political party from using any membership register for its primaries, congresses or conventions other than the one submitted to INEC.
Section 77(7) provides that a party which fails to submit its membership register within the prescribed period will not be eligible to field a candidate in the affected election.
Under Section 77(4), which was not listed among the provisions invalidated, political parties are required to make their membership registers available to INEC at least 21 days before their primaries, congresses or conventions.
Section 84(2), meanwhile, provides that political parties may nominate candidates for elective offices only through direct primaries or consensus, thereby excluding indirect primaries as an available statutory option.
In its judgment, the appellate court held that Sections 221 and 222 of the Constitution recognise the powers and responsibilities of political parties in the sponsorship of candidates and the regulation of their structures and internal affairs.
It ruled that provisions of an ordinary Act of the National Assembly could not validly impose restrictions that were inconsistent with rights or powers already conferred by the Constitution.
The court also referred to Sections 177 and 182 of the Constitution, which set out the qualification and disqualification requirements for candidates seeking election as governor.
It held that where the Constitution had comprehensively prescribed the conditions for qualification or disqualification, additional statutory conditions could not be used to disqualify a person who was otherwise constitutionally qualified.
Consequently, the court allowed the Zenith Party’s appeal, set aside the Federal High Court’s judgment and declared the disputed provisions unconstitutional.
The judgment could significantly affect INEC’s regulation of political-party primaries and membership registers ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While political parties may still be required to maintain and submit membership registers to the electoral commission, the court’s decision removes the provisions restricting participation exclusively to the submitted register and the sanction preventing a defaulting party from fielding candidates.
The invalidation of Section 84(2) also removes the statutory restriction limiting candidate nominations to direct primaries and consensus.
The decision may consequently restore greater discretion to political parties to determine their nomination procedures, including the possible adoption of indirect primaries, subject to their constitutions, guidelines and other valid provisions of the law.
The judgment did not invalidate Sections 77 and 84 in their entirety. It was restricted to Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2).
INEC may, however, challenge the decision before the Supreme Court or seek a stay of execution pending the determination of an appeal.
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