The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed October 24, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to report candidates allegedly omitted from the final list for the 2027 governorship elections.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement issued on Tuesday, Mohammed Haruna, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, said political parties have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission of any such omissions.
He said the deadline was in line with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Haruna recalled the Supreme Court’s decision in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, delivered on September 24, 2026.
The case arose from INEC’s appeal against a Court of Appeal judgment that nullified provisions of Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, which require political parties to submit their membership registers as a condition for conducting valid primaries.
According to Haruna, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality and mandatory nature of the provisions.
“The Supreme Court, in the aforementioned judgement, held that the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 are constitutional and mandatory for all political parties,” the statement said.
The commission added that the apex court also upheld Item 2 of its timetable and schedule of activities, which required political parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
Haruna said the court further ruled that political parties that failed to comply with the requirements were ineligible to sponsor candidates in the election.
He explained that INEC applied the Supreme Court’s decision when finalising the list of governorship candidates, excluding parties that did not comply with the membership-register requirements under Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act.
“In accordance with Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission, while finalizing the list of candidates for the Governorship election applied the above decision of the Supreme Court and excluded political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to fielding of candidates,” the statement added.
Haruna also noted that INEC published the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates on September 12, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.
Backstory
In September, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court upheld an appeal filed by INEC, restoring Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro, the apex court held that the provisions nullified by the Court of Appeal in July were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
The Supreme Court consequently set aside the appellate court’s judgment and restored the Federal High Court’s ruling, which had dismissed a suit filed by the Zenith Labour Party challenging the provisions.
Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act stipulates that only party members whose names appear on a membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary, congress or convention may participate in the exercise.
Section 77(6) also prohibits political parties from using any membership register other than the one submitted to the electoral commission for their primaries, congresses and conventions.
