Breaking: Appeal Court strikes down portions of Electoral Act as unconstitutional

A significant ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck down portions of the Electoral Act 2026, impacting how political parties manage membership and nominate candidates for future elections.

The appellate court unanimously declared sections 77(5), (6), and (7), along with section 84(2) of the Act, inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution. These sections regulated party membership registers and the direct primaries or consensus methods for candidate nomination. The court asserted that these provisions infringed upon the constitutional rights of political parties to determine their candidates.

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the stated provisions of the Electoral Act are superior to the powers donated to political parties by the 1999 Constitution, as amended

The judgment arose from an appeal filed by the Zenith Party (ZP) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The ZP had contested the constitutionality of the Electoral Act's provisions regarding party membership and primary elections after their initial suit was dismissed by the Federal High Court.

The appellate panel, led by Justice Balkisu Bello Aliyu, with Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike delivering the lead judgment, emphasized that the Constitution already outlines qualifications and disqualifications for candidates. It held that a subsidiary law like the Electoral Act could not impose conditions that contradict constitutional rights.

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the electoral law was not an attempt to usurp the right of political parties to decide how to conduct their internal affairs