The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has filed an appeal against a court ruling that stopped it from enforcing a directive requiring political parties to submit full membership registers by 10 May to qualify for the 2027 general elections.
On Monday, the electoral body, through its lawyer Alex Izinyon, lodged an appeal before the Abuja Court of Appeal, urging the court to set aside the earlier verdict of a lower court.
The legal challenge follows a decision by the Abuja Division of the High Court, which barred INEC from violating the Electoral Act with its guidelines. The lower court ruled that the commission’s directive—mandating political parties to submit a comprehensive register and database of all members by 10 May—was inconsistent with the law.
Justice Muhammed Umar delivered the judgment last Thursday in a suit brought by the Youth Party. The court held that INEC must adhere to the 120-day pre-election deadline for the submission of party registers, as prescribed by the Electoral Act 2026.
“A declaration is made that, having regard to Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026—which requires political parties to submit the personal particulars of their candidates no later than 120 days to an election—the defendant cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election guidelines,” the judgment read in part.
INEC’s appeal now seeks to overturn that ruling, arguing that its guidelines do not contravene the Electoral Act. A date for the hearing has yet to be announced.