THE Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against a Court of Appeal judgment that had voided parts of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to political party primaries and membership registers.
News Point Nigeria reports that a seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, set aside the Court of Appeal’s decision, which had favoured the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court.
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The Supreme Court held that Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026 do not conflict with the 1999 Constitution and also awarded N2 million in costs against the ZLP. The apex court also validated Sections 77(6) and 77(7), which deal with political party membership registers.
In two other judgments, the court dismissed separate appeals filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Youth Party (YP), which had also challenged decisions of the Court of Appeal in their respective cases against INEC.
In the SDP v. INEC appeal, the court heard the matter on its merit and accordingly dismissed the appeal.
In the Youth Party’s appeal, the preliminary objection filed by INEC was upheld, while the appeal was struck out for being incompetent.
The court described the Youth Party’s appeal as invalid and incompetent, having been filed out of time by one day.
The Federal High Court, Abuja Division, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, had earlier dismissed the ZLP’s action in a judgment delivered on May 5, 2026.
Dissatisfied with the decision, the ZLP appealed to the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026.
The Court of Appeal, in its judgment delivered on July 16, 2026, allowed the appeal in part and voided provisions of the Electoral Act relating to political party primaries and membership registers.
The appellate court’s decision subsequently prompted INEC to approach the apex court, according to the commission’s brief of argument filed in the appeal.
The ZLP had, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenged provisions of the Electoral Act, describing them as inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
The provisions at the centre of the dispute included Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) concern statutory requirements relating to political parties’ membership registers, while Section 84(2) prescribes direct primaries or consensus as methods for the nomination of candidates by political parties.
Under the disputed membership-register provisions, political parties are required to submit their membership registers to INEC within the stipulated period, with the register submitted to the commission being the one to be used for party primaries, congresses and conventions. Section 84(2), meanwhile, provides for direct primaries or consensus in the nomination of candidates.
The ZLP had argued at the trial court that the provisions conflicted with the 1999 Constitution and amounted to unconstitutional interference in the internal affairs of political parties.
The party’s case was anchored, among others, on Sections 221 and 222 of the Constitution, which provide the constitutional framework governing political parties.
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After the Federal High Court dismissed the suit, the ZLP appealed, leading to the Court of Appeal’s July 16 judgment.
INEC, dissatisfied with that judgment, subsequently lodged its appeal before the Supreme Court, resulting in Thursday’s decision restoring the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act.
