INEC Appeals Court Ruling Voiding Primaries, Candidate Registration Deadlines for 2027 Poll.
By Bassey Promise
The Independent National Electoral Commission has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a Federal High Court judgment that voided key portions of its 2027 general election timetable, including deadlines for party primaries and submission of membership registers.
INEC filed its Notice of Appeal at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on May 25, 2026, seeking to set aside the May 20 ruling delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar. The commission also filed a motion for stay of execution of the judgment pending the appeal.
The Federal High Court, Abuja, had ruled in a suit filed by the Youth Party that INEC exceeded its statutory powers by shortening timelines in the Electoral Act, 2026. Justice Umar held that the commission could not lawfully abridge deadlines for party primaries, submission of candidates’ particulars, withdrawal and replacement of candidates, and publication of final lists.
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Specifically, the court nullified INEC’s May 10, 2026 deadline requiring political parties to submit membership registers and databases as a condition for participating in the 2027 elections. The judgment stated that Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires parties to submit candidates’ particulars not later than 120 days before an election, and INEC could not reduce that period through administrative guidelines.
In its nine-ground appeal, INEC argued that the trial court erred by failing to rule on its preliminary objection that the suit was hypothetical and academic, alleging a denial of fair hearing. The commission’s counsel, Chief Alex Izinyon, SAN, contended that Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act were wrongly interpreted and that INEC acted within its powers in issuing the timetable.
INEC maintains it has the constitutional responsibility to coordinate election activities, including scheduling processes necessary for orderly preparations, and warned that allowing the ruling to stand could disrupt planning and logistics for the 2027 polls.
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The disputed timetable had directed parties to conduct primaries within a compressed timeframe ahead of presidential, National Assembly, governorship, and state assembly elections slated for February and March 2027.
The Youth Party suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026, argued that INEC’s powers to monitor primaries do not extend to fixing or prescribing timetables for internal party nominations.
Opposition parties including IPAC and ADC had earlier hailed the High Court ruling as a “victory for constitutional democracy” and a safeguard against arbitrary administrative actions.The Court of Appeal has not yet fixed a date for hearing INEC’s appeal.