…Electoral Act Provisions On Party Primaries Face Final Test

The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in an appeal by the Independent National Electoral Commission challenging the nullification of provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 regulating political party primaries and membership registers.

A seven-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Adamu Jauro, reserved judgment on Wednesday after hearing arguments from INEC and the Zenith Labour Party.

“This matter is now reserved for judgment, at a date to be communicated to the parties,” Justice Jauro announced.

The appeal, marked SC/CR/495/2026, arose from a constitutional action instituted by the ZLP against provisions of the Electoral Act which it argued unlawfully interfered with the internal administration and candidate-selection processes of political parties.

The disputed provisions include Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.

Section 77(5) restricts participation in party primaries, congresses and conventions to persons whose names appear in the membership register submitted to INEC within the prescribed period.

Section 77(6) prohibits a political party from using a membership register other than the one submitted to the electoral commission, while Section 77(7) makes a party that fails to submit its register within the stipulated period ineligible to sponsor candidates for an election.

Section 84(2), meanwhile, prescribes direct primaries or consensus as the methods through which political parties may nominate their candidates.

The ZLP contended that the provisions went beyond the National Assembly’s regulatory powers and encroached upon the constitutional autonomy of political parties under Sections 221 and 222 of the 1999 Constitution.

The party’s original suit, marked FHC/ABJ/509/2026, was dismissed by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on May 5, 2026.

Dissatisfied, the ZLP approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which allowed its appeal and declared the disputed provisions unconstitutional, null and void.

The appellate court held that the provisions amounted to excessive legislative interference in the internal affairs of political parties, including their choice of nomination procedure and determination of eligible members.

It, however, did not abolish the general obligation imposed on political parties to maintain membership registers.

INEC subsequently approached the Supreme Court, asking it to set aside the Court of Appeal judgment and uphold the validity of the provisions.

The electoral commission is the appellant in the proceedings, while the ZLP is the respondent.

The Supreme Court’s eventual decision will determine whether the National Assembly may restrict political parties to specified methods of conducting primaries and impose electoral consequences for failure to submit membership registers to INEC.

It will also clarify the constitutional boundary between INEC’s regulatory powers and the autonomy granted to political parties in managing their membership and selecting candidates.

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