Court cancels INEC deadline, allows parties to file membership registers by September 2026

A new development offers relief to many politicians who were defeated in recent party primaries. A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election null and void.

Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, in his judgment, found that the timetable imposed by INEC on political parties for conducting primaries, submitting, withdrawing and replacing candidate names, and providing candidate particulars for the 2027 elections was “inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026,” and therefore set it aside.

The ruling arose from a suit challenging INEC’s schedule, which was intended to prevent candidates who lost in primaries from defecting to another party and contesting the same office. The case, filed by the Youth Party, is identified as FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, with INEC named as the sole defendant.

The plaintiff, represented by counsel J. O. Olotu, filed the suit on March 11 and sought several reliefs. These included a declaration that, upon proper consideration of Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, INEC’s authority to receive notices of party primaries and candidate particulars, and its duty to observe and monitor such primaries, does not extend to fixing or prescribing the timetable for parties to hold their primaries for the 2027 elections.

Justice Umar noted that Section 29(1) of the Act requires parties to submit candidate particulars no later than 120 days before an election. “INEC cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election timetable,” the judge said.

Similarly, Section 31 permits parties to withdraw and substitute candidates no later than 90 days before an election. The court held that INEC lacks the power to impose an earlier deadline for withdrawal and replacement in its timetable.

Under Section 32, the court ruled that INEC does not have the statutory authority to publish the final list of candidates for the 2027 general election before the 60‑day minimum period prescribed by law.

The judge also declared that, based on Section 98, the defendant does not possess the statutory authority to fix a campaign‑ending date two days before the elections. In addition, a proper interpretation of Section 33 means that the timetable’s deadline for submitting membership registers does not apply to primaries held to replace withdrawn candidates.

Consequently, the court ordered the nullification of the timeframes set by INEC in its Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election. This includes the periods for conducting primaries, submitting candidate particulars, withdrawing and replacing candidates, publishing the final list of candidates, and campaigning, all of which were deemed inconsistent with the Electoral Act, 2026.

Under the former timetable, all 18 political parties were required to submit their membership registers to INEC by May 10, conduct primaries, and submit replacement candidates by the end of May. While most parties have complied and are currently holding primaries, the ruling All Progressives Congress has faced strong protests in several states, with many candidates withdrawing over alleged candidate impositions and other complaints.