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.
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