The Supreme Court has upheld key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party membership registers and methods of selecting candidates, setting aside a Court of Appeal ruling that had voided parts of the law.
A seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro allowed the appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission and restored the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court.
The apex court held that Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act did not conflict with the 1999 Constitution and awarded N2 million in costs against the Zenith Labour Party.
The court also dealt with separate appeals involving the Social Democratic Party and Youth Party.
The SDP appeal was dismissed on the merits, while the Youth Party appeal was struck out after the court upheld INEC’s preliminary objection that it had been filed out of time.
The dispute originated from a Federal High Court judgment delivered in May 2026 dismissing a challenge by the ZLP to provisions governing party membership registers and candidate nomination.
The Court of Appeal later allowed the party’s case in part and invalidated some provisions, prompting INEC to approach the Supreme Court.
The contested sections include statutory requirements relating to political party membership registers and provisions prescribing direct primaries or consensus as methods for nomination.
The ZLP had argued that the law interfered with the constitutional autonomy of political parties. The Supreme Court’s decision restores the provisions challenged in the litigation and resolves the dispute in INEC’s favour
