The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 (as amended) relating to political parties’ membership registers and the conduct of primary elections.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel led by Justice Balkisu Aliyu held that Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7), and 84(2) of the Electoral Act are inconsistent with Sections 221 and 222 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantee political parties the constitutional right to determine their membership and nominate candidates for elections.

The decision followed an appeal filed by the Zenith Party against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in suit number CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026.

The party challenged an earlier ruling delivered on May 5, 2026, by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed its suit questioning the constitutionality of the disputed provisions.

Zenith Party argued that the Electoral Act provisions unlawfully interfered with the internal administration of political parties and restricted their constitutional powers to determine party membership and nominate candidates for elective positions.

Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act required political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before party primaries, congresses, or conventions, limiting voting rights at such exercises to members whose names appeared on the submitted register.

Section 77(6) prohibited political parties from using any membership register other than the one submitted to INEC during their primaries, congresses, and conventions.

Section 77(7) further provided that political parties that failed to submit their membership registers within the stipulated period would be barred from fielding candidates in elections.

In addition, Section 84(2) restricted the methods political parties could adopt in nominating candidates, allowing only direct primaries or consensus arrangements for elective positions.

The Court of Appeal ruled that these provisions conflict with the constitutional autonomy granted to political parties and are therefore invalid.