Supreme Court Ruling Restores Electoral Act Rules on Party Registers and Primaries
A September 24 Supreme Court decision restored disputed provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 covering political party membership registers and candidate selection. Ondo State Attorney-General Olukayode Ajulo says parties and aspirants should review their procedures ahead of the 2027 elections.
Nigeria's Supreme Court has restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 that regulate how political parties manage membership registers and nominate candidates. The decision followed an appeal by the Independent National Electoral Commission and overturned an earlier Court of Appeal ruling.
The judgment was delivered on September 24, 2026. The court reinstated Sections 77(5) to 77(7), together with Section 84(2), after finding that the challenged provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution on the grounds presented in the case. The Federal High Court's earlier judgment was consequently restored.
The provisions dealing with membership registers set rules for the records political parties submit to INEC and use during primaries, congresses and conventions. Section 84(2) deals with candidate selection and provides for direct primaries or consensus.
Writing about the ruling, Ondo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Olukayode Ajulo argued that political parties should examine their internal arrangements to ensure compliance with the law. He said this should include membership records, congresses, conventions, primary procedures and nomination processes.
Ajulo also urged aspirants to pay attention to the legal requirements governing their emergence as candidates rather than waiting until disputes arise after party contests. His position is that political party autonomy operates within constitutional and statutory limits where lawmakers have expressly regulated an electoral process.
He further said INEC should reflect the Supreme Court's interpretation in its guidance to political parties while remaining within the powers given to it by law. In his view, the commission should apply existing requirements consistently rather than create additional conditions of its own.
Ajulo said the period before the 2027 elections gives parties and aspirants an opportunity to identify possible compliance problems and address them before they develop into legal disputes. His comments were presented as a legal opinion on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment, rather than as a separate court ruling.