The Supreme Court has upheld the authority of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enforce provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 on political party membership registers and the conduct of party primaries.
A seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro on Thursday overturned a Court of Appeal judgment that voided parts of the Electoral Act and upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The apex court held that Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act do not conflict with the 1999 Constitution.
The court also awarded N2 million in costs against the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), which challenged the provisions.
The ruling followed an appeal by INEC against the July 16, 2026 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had partly upheld ZLP’s challenge and voided provisions on party membership registers and candidate nomination.
The dispute centres on Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Sections 77(5) to 77(7) require political parties to maintain and submit membership registers, while Section 84(2) provides for direct primaries or consensus as methods for nominating candidates.
ZLP had argued that the provisions amounted to interference in the internal affairs of political parties and were inconsistent with Sections 221 and 222 of the 1999 Constitution, which provide the constitutional framework for political parties.
The Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, dismissed the party’s case in a judgment delivered on May 5, 2026.
ZLP appealed to the Court of Appeal, which in its July 16 judgment allowed the appeal in part and voided provisions relating to party primaries and membership registers.
INEC then appealed to the Supreme Court, asking it to overturn the Court of Appeal’s decision and uphold the validity of the disputed provisions.
The Supreme Court also dismissed separate appeals filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Youth Party against decisions of the Court of Appeal in their respective cases involving INEC.
In the SDP case, the court considered the appeal on its merits and dismissed it.
In the Youth Party case, the court upheld INEC’s preliminary objection and struck out the appeal for being incompetent.
The apex court held that the Youth Party filed its appeal one day outside the prescribed period.
INEC had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeals filed by the two political parties.
The decisions uphold the commission’s role in enforcing statutory requirements governing political parties, including rules on membership registers and candidate nomination.