By Eteteonline Team
Important elements of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) schedule for holding political party primary elections in advance of the 2027 general elections have been declared invalid by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to Justice Mohammed Umar’s ruling, the electoral commission violated its legislative authority under the Electoral Act of 2026.
The Certified True Copy was made available the next day, even though the judgment was given on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
The ruling has an impact on political party primary election schedules, timelines for candidates’ nominations, withdrawals, and replacement of personal information by their parties, and INEC’s release of the final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
In order for political parties to finish their primary elections for elective posts in the run-up to the general elections in 2027, INEC released regulations, a calendar, and a program of operations on February 26, 2026.
A framework known as INEC’s “Regulations for the Conduct of Political Party Primaries” was created to regulate the process by which political parties propose candidates for election.
Additionally, parties must notify INEC at least 21 days before the primaries, indicating whether they want to hold direct or indirect primaries and providing complete information on the venues, delegates, candidates, and party policies.
The regulations gave INEC additional authority to oversee primaries and assess adherence to party and election laws.
Through an originating summons filed on March 11, the Youth Party appealed to the Federal High Court, claiming that INEC had exceeded its legislative power under the Electoral Act 2026 by enforcing unlawful deadlines.
The party requested that the court rule on INEC’s legal authority to set dates for party primaries, candidate submissions, withdrawals and substitutes, the release of final candidate lists, and campaign periods.
The Youth Party’s attorney argued that the commission had essentially changed statutory requirements through administrative rules and sought the court to strike aside the contested parts of the schedule.
Justice Umar concurred with the Youth Party in his ruling, holding that INEC’s authority does not include setting deadlines for political parties’ internal nominating procedures.
He decided that Sections 29, 82, and 84(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 do not provide INEC the authority to decide when political parties must have their primaries; rather, they simply give it the authority to receive notices of primaries, keep an eye on the process, and gather candidate information.
The judge ruled that the Electoral Act’s explicit statutory deadlines could not be shortened by INEC.
He clarified that political parties are required by Section 29(1) to submit candidates’ details no later than 120 days before an election, and that no administrative schedule may legitimately shorten that time frame.
Additionally, Mr. Umar ruled that INEC cannot set an earlier deadline and that political parties have up to ninety days before an election to withdraw and substitute candidates under Section 31 of the Act.
Regarding the candidates’ list, the court decided that Section 32 prohibits INEC from releasing the final list before the legally mandated minimum of 60 days.
He went on to say that doing so would be an illegal change to the law.
The court further declared that INEC’s decision to cease campaign activities two days before the election was an abuse of its authority, citing a violation of Section 98 of the Electoral Act.
The judgment decided that when parties hold primaries to replace withdrawn candidates, INEC’s mandated timetables do not apply.
As a result, Justice Umar overturned several of INEC’s updated schedules for the general elections in 2027.
He declared that the deadlines for party primaries, the filing of candidate details, the withdrawal and replacement of candidates, the release of final candidate lists, and campaigns were all in violation of the Electoral Act of 2026.
The court emphasized that those clauses were unconstitutional because they sought to change the legislatively established statutory deadlines. In the meantime, INEC has been urged by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) and other interested parties to follow the court’s ruling and update its schedule for the general elections in 2027.
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