The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has voided parts of the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for party primaries and candidate nominations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, the court also struck out INEC’s May 10 deadline that directed political parties to submit their membership registers and databases as a requirement for participation in the polls.
The court ruled that the schedule fixed by the electoral body for political parties to conduct primaries, as well as timelines for the submission, withdrawal, and replacement of candidates, “is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
The suit was filed by the Youth Party (YP), which challenged INEC’s timetable and asked the court to compel the commission to comply with the 120-day pre-election deadline provided under the Electoral Act 2026 for the submission of party registers and candidates’ personal details.
Although the ruling was delivered on Wednesday, the Certified True Copy obtained on Thursday showed that INEC was the only defendant in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016.
The Youth Party argued that under Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, INEC’s authority to receive notices of party primaries and monitor them does not include the power to determine or impose timelines for when political parties must conduct such primaries for the 2027 elections.
In his decision, Justice Umar agreed with the plaintiff and held that Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 clearly states that political parties are required to submit the particulars of their candidates not later than 120 days before an election. According to the court, “INEC cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election timetable”.
The court further ruled that by virtue of Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2026, which allows political parties to withdraw and substitute candidates up to 90 days before an election, INEC also lacks the authority to reduce that period by fixing an earlier deadline in its timetable for the 2027 polls.
INEC had earlier instructed political parties to submit their membership registers at least 21 days before their primaries and initially fixed April 21, 2026, as the deadline.
The commission later shifted the deadline to May 10, 2026, for the submission of membership registers ahead of the 2027 general elections.
On May 15, INEC announced that all 22 registered political parties in the country had complied with the Electoral Act 2026 by submitting their membership registers.