2027: Court faults INEC, vacates deadline for primaries, nomination of candidates

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

Ahead of the 2027 general election, political parties have received relief after the Federal High Court in Abuja invalidated the timeline that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued for the conduct of primaries and the nomination of candidates.

The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, also set aside the INEC’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit a register and database of all their members as a condition for qualifying to participate in the general elections.

It held that the time frame the Commission imposed for political parties to conduct their primaries and to submit, withdraw, or replace the names and particulars of their candidates for the general elections “is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”

The judgment followed a legal action brought by the Youth Party (YP) to compel INEC to comply with the Electoral Act 2026’s 120‑day pre‑election deadline for submitting party registers and candidates’ personal particulars.

Even though the judgment was delivered on Wednesday, the Certified True Copy (CTC) was made available on Thursday.

INEC was listed as the sole defendant in YP’s suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016.

The plaintiff had prayed the court to declare that upon a proper consideration and interpretation of the provisions of Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, the powers of the INEC to receive notice of party primaries and the personal particulars of candidates, and its duty to attend, observe and monitor such primaries, does not extend to fixing or prescribing the timetable within which political parties may conduct their primary elections for the purpose of nominating candidates for the 2027 general elections.

While agreeing with the YP, Justice Umar declared that in view of the provisions of 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, “INEC cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election timetable.”

Likewise, the court held that in line with Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2026, which permits political parties to withdraw and substitute candidates not later than 90 days before the conduct of an election, the INEC lacks the powers to abridge or limit that statutory period by fixing an earlier deadline for the withdrawal and replacement of candidates in its 2027 election timetable.

Justice Umar further held that by provisions of Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026, INEC does not possess the statutory power to publish the final list of candidates for the 2027 general election before the 60-day minimum period prescribed by law.

Other reliefs that were granted by the court included: “A Declaration is made that upon the proper construction of Section 98 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the defendant does not possess the statutory authority to fix in its timetable for the 2027 general elections for campaigns to end 2 days before the elections.”

As well as, “A declaration is made that upon the proper interpretation to Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the time frame prescribed by the Defendant for submission of membership registers for the conduct of primary elections is NOT applicable to primary elections conducted for the purpose of replacing withdrawn candidates.”

The court made an order “setting aside or nullifying the time-frames imposed by the defendant in its Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for 2027 General Election for the conduct of primary elections by political parties for the 2027 general elections, the submission of personal particulars of candidates by their political parties for the 2027 general elections, the withdrawal and replacement of candidates by political parties for the 2027 general elections, the publication of the final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections and campaigning for the 2027 general elections which is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”

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