The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has voided the directive issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission requiring political parties to submit their membership registers by May 10 ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Justice M.G. Umar delivered the judgement on Thursday in a suit instituted by the Youth Party against the electoral commission.
The court held that INEC could not lawfully impose a deadline shorter than the timeframe already provided under the Electoral Act 2026 for submission of party documents related to elections.
According to the ruling, Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act stipulates that political parties are to submit the personal particulars of their candidates not later than 120 days before an election.
The court declared that the commission lacked the power to abridge the statutory timeline by introducing an earlier deadline in its guidelines for the 2027 polls.
“A declaration is made that having regard to Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires political parties to submit the personal particulars of their candidates not later than 120 days to an election, the defendant cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 elections,” the judgement stated.
The ruling effectively gives all registered political parties until September 2026 to submit updated membership registers and databases to the commission.
The judgement is also expected to provide an opportunity for politicians who may lose party primaries to defect to other political parties ahead of the elections.
INEC has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
Leave a Reply