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The Supreme Court has restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 earlier invalidated by the Court of Appeal, clearing the way for their application ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A seven-member panel of the apex court unanimously upheld an appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against the appellate court’s judgment.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro on Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
The provisions concern political parties’ membership registers and the procedure for nominating candidates for elections.
The apex court held that the disputed provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and faulted the Court of Appeal for allowing an appeal filed by the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The Supreme Court consequently dismissed the ZLP’s case and reinstated the judgment of the Federal High Court, which had earlier dismissed the party’s suit.
The apex court also awarded N2 million in costs against the ZLP.
The dispute followed a July 16 judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which had nullified the provisions on the grounds that they conflicted with constitutional provisions governing political parties.
The appellate court had held that Sections 77(5), (6) and (7), as well as Section 84(2), were inconsistent with Sections 221 and 222 of the Constitution, which recognise the rights of political parties in determining their candidates and internal affairs.
The ZLP had challenged the provisions after the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed its suit on May 5.
The party had questioned the constitutionality of provisions regulating party membership registers and the conduct of primaries, arguing that the Electoral Act could not override powers granted to political parties by the Constitution.
Section 77(5) provides that only persons whose names appear on a membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a party’s primary, congress or convention are eligible to vote.
Section 77(6) bars political parties from using any register other than the one submitted to INEC for their primaries, congresses and conventions.
Under Section 77(7), a political party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated period is not eligible to field a candidate in an election.
Section 84(2), meanwhile, provides that political parties shall nominate candidates for elective positions through direct primaries or consensus.
The Court of Appeal had previously ruled in favour of the ZLP in an appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026.
In its judgment, the appellate court held that the Constitution had already provided the conditions for qualification and disqualification of political parties and candidates.
It maintained that no additional condition contained in subsidiary legislation could disqualify an individual who was otherwise qualified under the Constitution.
Dissatisfied with the decision, INEC approached the Supreme Court in an appeal marked SC/CR/495/2026, asking the apex court to overturn the appellate court’s judgment.
The ZLP, however, urged the Supreme Court to dismiss INEC’s appeal and uphold the Court of Appeal’s decision.
The Supreme Court, in allowing INEC’s appeal, effectively restored the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and reinstated the Federal High Court’s judgment on the matter.
