By Simpson Global Media News Desk
INEC Begins Review of Supreme Court Ruling
The Independent National Electoral Commission has begun examining the implications of a Supreme Court judgment that restored key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political-party membership registers and the nomination of candidates for elective positions.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed on Tuesday, October 6, that the commission had received the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment and was reviewing its contents.
The development comes as Nigeria enters the final 100-day stretch before the 2027 general elections and as political parties complete preparations for campaigns, nominations and other electoral activities.
The Supreme Court’s September 24 judgment restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 after setting aside an earlier Court of Appeal decision that had declared the provisions unconstitutional.
The provisions concern who may participate in party primaries, how political parties must use their membership registers and the circumstances under which a party may be prevented from fielding candidates.
Amupitan said INEC had received complaints and enquiries from political parties, aspirants and members of the National Assembly following the judgment.
He said the commission received the certified judgment on Tuesday and would study its implications before determining the appropriate administrative steps.
The development has placed renewed attention on the relationship between political-party membership records, internal party elections and the eligibility of parties to present candidates for the 2027 elections.
What the Supreme Court Restored
The Supreme Court ruling followed a legal challenge brought by the Zenith Labour Party.
A seven-member panel of the apex court unanimously allowed an appeal filed by INEC against the Court of Appeal judgment that had voided the disputed provisions.
The Supreme Court held that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and restored the earlier Federal High Court position that had dismissed the challenge.
The ruling also awarded costs of ₦2 million against the Zenith Labour Party.
The restored provisions are important because they establish statutory requirements for political parties before they conduct primaries, congresses and conventions or present candidates for elections.
Section 77(5) provides that only party members whose names appear on a membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary, congress or convention are eligible to participate in the relevant exercise.
Section 77(6) requires political parties to use the membership register submitted to INEC for those internal electoral activities.
Section 77(7) provides that a political party that fails to submit its membership register within the required period cannot field a candidate in an election.
Section 84(2), meanwhile, addresses the nomination of candidates through direct primaries or consensus.
The restoration means those provisions are again part of the legal framework governing the 2027 electoral process.
Why the Membership Register Matters
Political-party membership registers may appear to be an internal administrative issue, but the law gives them a direct connection to the conduct of party primaries and candidate selection.
Under the restored provisions, the register submitted to INEC is not simply a record for information purposes.
It establishes the membership base that parties are expected to rely upon during specified internal electoral exercises.
That has implications for candidates seeking party tickets.
A person whose name is not included in the relevant register could face questions about eligibility to participate in a primary or other party exercise.
The same rules also place obligations on political parties to maintain and submit their registers within the statutory timeframe.
The provisions are intended to establish a verifiable relationship between a party's membership records and its internal nomination processes.
The legal dispute arose because the provisions were challenged as being inconsistent with the Constitution.
The Supreme Court has now settled that constitutional question by restoring them.
The remaining issue for INEC is how the judgment should be applied administratively across the electoral system and how existing candidate nominations should be treated under the restored provisions.
INEC Says the Ruling Does Not Automatically Disqualify Individual Candidates
An important clarification emerging from Tuesday's stakeholder engagement is that the Supreme Court judgment does not automatically mean that every individual candidate whose circumstances may raise questions under Section 77 is immediately disqualified.
INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said the commission was reviewing the judgment and its implications.
A separate account of the commission's position reported that the legal consequence under Section 77(7) is directed at political parties that fail to comply with statutory requirements concerning their membership registers.
The commission's interpretation is therefore significant because political parties and individual aspirants have been seeking clarity on how the Supreme Court ruling will affect the 2027 candidate lists.
The distinction matters in an electoral environment where nominations have already taken place and INEC has published the final list of presidential candidates.
INEC released the final list of 18 presidential candidates and their running mates in September.
The list includes candidates sponsored by the All Progressives Congress, African Democratic Congress, Nigeria Democratic Congress, Allied Peoples Movement, Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, African Action Congress and other political parties.
The commission therefore faces the task of applying the law without creating uncertainty about the status of candidates and parties that have already completed nomination processes.
House Committee Calls for Enforcement
The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has taken a more direct position.
The committee has asked INEC to audit political-party membership registers and disqualify candidates whose names are not contained in the registers submitted by their parties as required under the Electoral Act.
Committee Chairman Bayo Balogun drew INEC's attention to the Supreme Court judgment and called for enforcement of Sections 77(4) to 77(6).
He said an audit should establish whether candidates submitted by political parties are contained in the membership registers previously submitted to INEC.
According to Balogun, enforcing the provisions would help prevent disputes and reduce litigation arising from alleged irregularities in party primaries and nominations.
He argued that parties and candidates found to have failed the statutory requirements should face the consequences provided by law.
The committee's position, however, is a recommendation to the electoral commission.
INEC remains responsible for administering elections and determining the appropriate implementation of electoral law within its constitutional and statutory mandate.
The commission's ongoing review of the Supreme Court judgment is therefore central to determining how the provisions will be operationalised.
A New Legal Test for Political Parties
The Supreme Court decision creates a renewed compliance obligation for political parties as the 2027 elections approach.
Parties must be able to demonstrate that their membership records meet the requirements of the law and that their internal electoral processes were conducted using the appropriate register.
This could become particularly important in cases where competing factions within a party challenge the legitimacy of a primary.
Disputes over party membership and nomination have historically generated litigation in Nigeria.
The restored provisions establish additional statutory requirements that courts and electoral authorities can use when examining such disputes.
Political parties may therefore need to review their records carefully to ensure that membership information submitted to INEC corresponds with the people who participated in their internal elections.
The timing is significant.
The 2027 general elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, meaning that political parties have limited time to resolve legal or administrative questions arising from the restored provisions.
The 100-Day Countdown
The Supreme Court development comes on the same day INEC began its formal 100-day countdown to the 2027 general elections.
At a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders' Meeting in Abuja, the commission provided updates on preparations involving voter registration, candidate nominations, logistics, technology, election security and the integrity of the electoral process.
Political-party leaders, security agencies, diplomatic representatives, civil-society organisations, development partners, election observers, disability-rights advocates, religious and traditional leaders, youth organisations and media executives participated in the stakeholder engagement.
The timing means that legal issues surrounding party nominations are developing alongside the operational preparations for the elections.
INEC is therefore working on several fronts simultaneously.
It must prepare the physical and technological infrastructure required for voting while also managing the legal framework under which political parties and candidates participate.
57,000 New BVAS Devices
The commission said preparations have moved from planning towards execution.
INEC Chairman Amupitan disclosed that the commission plans to deploy 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices for the 2027 elections.
Production is at an advanced stage, with some devices already delivered.
The commission also plans a six-day nationwide stress test of configured BVAS devices from October 23 to October 28, followed by a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November.
The objective is to identify technical problems before election day rather than during the actual voting process.
The emphasis on testing is part of INEC's broader effort to reduce the risk of technical failures affecting accreditation and other election-day procedures.
The commission has also said that procurement of ballot papers and result sheets is nearing completion.
Election Logistics
INEC's preparations also include the transportation of personnel and election materials.
According to the commission's briefing, it has renewed agreements with major transport unions to mobilise more than 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats for election logistics.
Sensitive materials are expected to be moved from Central Bank of Nigeria vaults to local government areas 72 hours before the polls.
The commission plans to deliver materials to all 8,838 Registration Area Centres by 4pm on the eve of election day.
The logistics operation will cover a large geographic area and require coordination between INEC, transport providers, security agencies and local authorities.
The scale of the operation underscores why preparations begin months before voting.
More Than 1.4 Million Ad Hoc Personnel
INEC also expects to engage 707,384 ad hoc personnel for each of the two election days scheduled for January 16 and February 6, 2027.
Across the two days, that amounts to 1,414,768 engagements covering 176,846 polling units, according to the commission's briefing.
The first election day is scheduled for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while the second covers the governorship and state assembly contests.
Recruitment, training and deployment of temporary election personnel are therefore among the logistical tasks that must be completed before the polls.
The personnel will operate at polling units and other locations involved in the voting and collation processes.
Their readiness will be important because election technology cannot operate independently of the people responsible for deploying and using it.
The Voter Register Has Passed 103 Million
INEC also reported that the National Register of Voters now stands at more than 103 million following the completion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise and biometric verification.
The three phases produced 10,772,421 new registrations, according to the commission.
The register will be displayed for public scrutiny from October 9, while distribution of Phase 1 Permanent Voter Cards to Local Government centres is scheduled to begin on the same day.
The size of the register makes the 2027 election the largest electoral exercise yet in terms of registered voters in Nigeria.
It also creates a substantial administrative task for INEC.
The commission must ensure that eligible voters can collect their cards, verify their registration details and identify potential errors or irregularities during the public display period.
The register is therefore another major component of election preparation running alongside the legal issues surrounding political parties.
AI Enters the Electoral Administration Debate
Another significant announcement from the October 6 briefing was the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence Division within INEC's Information and Communications Technology Department.
The commission said the division would help address emerging technological challenges, including anomalies and disinformation.
Amupitan said automated AI auditing tools had already been integrated into the commission's results-verification process.
He also said the system would operate under a five-pillar AI governance framework with mandatory human oversight, while INEC finalises its broader AI governance policy.
The development reflects the changing nature of election information.
Political campaigns increasingly take place online, while voters receive information through social media platforms and messaging applications.
Generative AI has also made it easier to produce manipulated photographs, videos and audio recordings.
INEC has consequently identified deepfakes, voice cloning and other forms of synthetic content as potential risks to electoral information.
INEC Warns Against Unverified Election Claims
Amupitan also called on media organisations to establish fact-checking desks and use digital forensic tools to verify election-related information.
He urged journalists to confirm information with INEC before publication and warned against independently announcing election results.
According to the commission, the Electoral Act gives INEC the authority to declare election results.
The warning comes as the election approaches a period in which campaign activity and political messaging are expected to intensify.
The challenge is not limited to deliberately false information.
Election results can also be misreported because of premature announcements, incorrect figures, confusion between polling-unit results and officially collated results or the circulation of incomplete documents.
The commission's position is that information should be verified before it is presented as established fact.
Why the Supreme Court Decision Matters Now
The legal significance of the Supreme Court judgment is amplified by the timing of the election calendar.
Political parties have already conducted many nomination exercises.
INEC has published its final presidential candidate list.
Campaign activity is underway.
The commission is preparing voting technology and logistics.
The electorate is preparing to collect Permanent Voter Cards.
Against that background, any uncertainty over the legal status of party membership registers could generate further challenges if not clarified quickly.
Political parties need to know the rules under which their candidates and internal processes will be assessed.
Candidates need certainty about the legal status of their nominations.
INEC needs a consistent administrative framework.
And voters need confidence that disputes over internal party procedures will be handled through established legal mechanisms rather than creating uncertainty immediately before voting.
The Importance of Party Compliance
The restored provisions place a significant responsibility on political parties themselves.
Parties are expected to maintain membership records and comply with statutory deadlines for submitting those records to INEC.
They are also expected to use the submitted register during relevant internal elections.
This creates a traceable process.
If a party conducts a primary, the membership register used for the exercise can be compared with the register submitted to INEC.
That creates a potential evidentiary basis for resolving disputes over who was entitled to participate.
It also reduces the scope for a party to rely on one membership list internally while submitting another to the electoral commission.
The effectiveness of the system will depend on the accuracy of party records and INEC's ability to monitor compliance.
Potential Impact on Litigation
Nigeria's electoral process has frequently involved litigation over party primaries and candidate nominations.
The restored provisions may provide additional grounds on which disputes can be assessed.
However, they do not automatically resolve every nomination dispute.
Questions may still arise over when a register was submitted, whether the register complied with statutory requirements, whether a candidate's name appeared on it, whether the relevant party exercise was conducted according to its own constitution and whether other provisions of electoral law were satisfied.
Each dispute would therefore depend on its specific facts and applicable legal provisions.
The Supreme Court ruling establishes the constitutionality of the disputed provisions, but the application of those provisions to individual situations can still require administrative and judicial interpretation.
INEC's review of the Certified True Copy is therefore significant.
Political Parties Face Different Circumstances
The ruling applies across the political-party system rather than being directed at one particular party.
Nigeria's 2027 presidential field contains candidates from 18 political parties.
Those parties differ considerably in size, organisational structure, membership systems and geographic reach.
The practical effect of compliance requirements may therefore differ from one party to another.
Large parties may have extensive membership databases and established administrative structures.
Smaller parties may have fewer resources and more limited organisational infrastructure.
The law nevertheless applies to registered political parties according to the relevant statutory requirements.
INEC's role will be to administer the rules consistently rather than according to the size or political status of a party.
A Wider Debate About Electoral Reform
The latest dispute is part of a broader debate about how Nigeria should regulate political parties and improve electoral administration.
The Electoral Act 2026 introduced or reinforced a number of rules intended to provide greater structure around party activities, candidate nominations and election administration.
The courts are increasingly being asked to interpret how those provisions interact with constitutional rights and the responsibilities of electoral institutions.
The Supreme Court's decision provides an authoritative interpretation of the specific provisions challenged by the Zenith Labour Party.
It also demonstrates the role of judicial review in Nigeria's electoral system.
Where parties or candidates believe electoral laws conflict with constitutional provisions, they can seek judicial interpretation.
Once the Supreme Court settles the constitutional question, electoral institutions and political actors must operate within the legal framework established by the judgment.
What Political Parties Must Watch
Political parties now have several issues to monitor closely.
First is compliance with membership-register requirements.
Second is the relationship between the registers submitted to INEC and those used for internal party activities.
Third is the documentation supporting candidate nominations.
Fourth is the possibility of legal challenges where candidates or party members allege that statutory procedures were not followed.
Fifth is the administrative guidance INEC eventually issues after completing its review of the Supreme Court judgment.
These issues are likely to remain important as the January 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections approach.
What Happens Next
INEC is expected to complete its review of the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment and determine its administrative implications.
The commission will also continue preparations for the public display of the voter register, PVC distribution, BVAS testing, mock accreditation, logistics and deployment of election personnel.
Political parties, meanwhile, will need to ensure that their membership and nomination records comply with the restored provisions.
The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters is calling for an audit of party registers, but INEC will determine the precise administrative steps required under its legal mandate.
The courts could also remain involved if parties, candidates or other interested parties challenge specific applications of the law.
The distinction between the Supreme Court's constitutional ruling and the facts of individual candidate cases will therefore remain important.
The Road to January 16
Nigeria's 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027.
With the 100-day countdown now underway, the electoral process has moved into a more operational phase.
The political contest is continuing, but so is the institutional preparation required to conduct the elections.
The Supreme Court ruling has added a legal compliance issue to that preparation.
INEC must now translate the judgment into clear administrative practice while avoiding unnecessary uncertainty for parties and candidates.
At the same time, political parties must ensure that their own records and nomination procedures meet the requirements of the law.
The commission's other preparations — from BVAS testing and logistics to voter-register display and PVC distribution — will proceed alongside that legal review.
An Election System Under Multiple Tests
The developments of October 6 illustrate the number of separate systems that must work together for a national election.
There is the voter-registration system.
There are political-party nomination procedures.
There are electoral laws and judicial interpretations.
There is election technology.
There are logistics and personnel.
There are security arrangements.
There is the information environment.
And there is public participation.
A weakness in one area can create pressure in another.
For example, uncertainty over party nominations can produce litigation, while misinformation can generate confusion about results or procedures.
Technical problems can affect public confidence, while logistical delays can affect the conduct of voting.
INEC's challenge is therefore broader than simply deploying voting equipment on election day.
Legal Certainty and Electoral Administration
The Supreme Court's restoration of Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) gives political parties a clearer legal framework, but it also places greater importance on compliance.
The immediate task is to understand precisely how the provisions apply to the 2027 electoral process.
INEC's decision to review the Certified True Copy before taking further administrative action is therefore a significant step.
The commission has acknowledged receiving questions from political parties, aspirants and lawmakers.
Its eventual interpretation and implementation will be closely watched because of the proximity of the election.
At the same time, any enforcement action must follow the applicable law and due process.
The Public Interest
For voters, the debate over party registers may seem distant from everyday political participation.
But the integrity of candidate-selection processes affects the choices presented to voters on the ballot.
When disputes over nominations are resolved according to established rules and evidence, political parties and candidates have clearer procedures for addressing disagreements.
The public interest therefore lies not in favouring one party or candidate, but in ensuring that the rules governing participation are known, consistently applied and capable of being challenged through lawful mechanisms.
That is also relevant to confidence in the electoral process.
A transparent framework does not eliminate disputes.
It provides a defined method for resolving them.
100 Days of Preparation
The October 6 briefing marks an important transition in Nigeria's journey towards the 2027 elections.
The country now has a voter register exceeding 103 million.
INEC is preparing tens of thousands of additional BVAS devices.
The commission plans nationwide technology stress tests and mock accreditation.
Logistics arrangements are being expanded.
Political parties are campaigning.
Candidates have been listed.
And the Supreme Court has clarified the constitutional status of key provisions governing party membership registers and candidate nominations.
The remaining challenge is implementation.
INEC must turn its plans into functioning systems.
Political parties must comply with electoral law.
Candidates must operate within the rules governing nominations and campaigns.
Security agencies must support a safe electoral environment.
The media must verify information.
And voters must have access to accurate information about the process.
A Legal Ruling With Practical Consequences
The Supreme Court's September 24 decision is therefore more than a legal development confined to the courtroom.
Its restored provisions have practical implications for how political parties organise their internal elections and maintain membership records.
The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters is already pressing INEC to enforce those provisions.
INEC, however, is still reviewing the judgment and has indicated that the ruling does not automatically disqualify individual candidates.
That distinction will be important as the commission determines how the judgment should be administered.
For political parties, the immediate priority is compliance and documentation.
For candidates, it is understanding the legal status of their nominations.
For INEC, it is implementing the Supreme Court's interpretation while continuing the broader preparations for the elections.
And for voters, the most important issue is that electoral rules are applied transparently and consistently.
With 100 days remaining before the 2027 general elections, Nigeria's electoral machinery is entering a period in which legal decisions, administrative preparations and political activity will increasingly intersect.
The Supreme Court has clarified the constitutional status of the disputed provisions.
The next stage is for INEC and the political parties to apply that framework in practice.
How that process unfolds will be closely watched as Nigeria moves towards the January 16 presidential and National Assembly elections and the subsequent state-level contests.
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