Supreme Court overturns ruling against INEC on party membership registers
The Supreme Court has upheld provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party primaries and membership registers, overturning a Court of Appeal judgment that had invalidated parts of the law.
A seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro on Thursday allowed an appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and set aside the appellate court’s ruling in favour of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The apex court restored the judgment of the Federal High Court, holding that Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution. It also awarded N2m in costs against the ZLP.
INEC was represented by Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN. The Supreme Court had reserved judgment last week after hearing arguments from the parties.
In separate judgments, the court also ruled in INEC’s favour in appeals involving the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Youth Party (YP).
The court considered the SDP’s appeal on its merits but dismissed it. The Youth Party’s appeal was struck out after the court upheld INEC’s preliminary objection, finding that it was filed a day outside the prescribed period and was therefore incompetent.
The dispute arose after the ZLP approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Sections 77(5) to (7) deal with requirements governing political parties’ membership registers, while Section 84(2) provides for direct primaries or consensus as methods of selecting candidates.
The ZLP argued that the provisions conflicted with the Constitution and amounted to unlawful interference in the internal affairs of political parties. It relied partly on Sections 221 and 222 of the Constitution, which set out provisions relating to political parties.
Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed the suit on 5 May 2026, prompting the ZLP to appeal.
On 16 July, the Court of Appeal in Abuja allowed the party’s appeal in part and invalidated provisions relating to party primaries and membership registers.
INEC subsequently approached the Supreme Court, which has now overturned that decision and restored the Federal High Court judgment.