Appeal Court Nullifies 4 Electoral Act Provisions, Upholds Parties’ Power to Choose Candidates

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has voided four provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to party membership registers and candidate nomination.

The appellate court ruled that the four provisions are inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.

The affected provisions are Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2), which the court held to be unconstitutional ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The unanimous judgment was delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Balkisu Bello Aliyu in Suit No. CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026, following an appeal filed by the Zenith Party against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike set aside the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had dismissed the party’s challenge to the disputed provisions.
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The appellate court held that the National Assembly could not impose statutory restrictions that undermine the constitutional powers of political parties to regulate their internal affairs and determine the candidates they would sponsor for elections.

The court consequently invalidated Section 77(5), which restricted participation in party primaries, congresses and conventions to members whose names appeared on membership registers submitted to INEC within the prescribed period.

It also struck down Sections 77(6) and 77(7), which respectively restricted parties from using different membership registers and barred parties that failed to submit their registers within the stipulated period from presenting candidates.

The court further nullified Section 84(2), which limited candidate nomination to direct primaries or consensus, holding that political parties retain constitutional authority over their internal nomination procedures.

The ruling, however, did not invalidate the Electoral Act 2026 in its entirety or abolish the general requirement for parties to maintain membership registers and submit relevant records to INEC.

The decision is expected to have significant implications for the 2027 elections, particularly party primaries, membership verification and candidate nomination.