Appeal Court voids Electoral Act provisions on party primaries, membership register

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The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday struck down key provisions of the Electoral Act regulating political party membership registers and methods of candidate nomination, holding that they were inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.

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A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Balkisu Aliyu, unanimously allowed an appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026, filed by the Zenith Party and set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, which had dismissed the suit.

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In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, the court declared Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 unconstitutional.

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The court held that the National Assembly could not, through an Act of Parliament, impose restrictions on political parties that conflict with powers already guaranteed to them under the Constitution.

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It ruled that Sections 221 and 222 of the Constitution recognise political parties as the bodies responsible for sponsoring candidates for elections and managing their internal affairs.

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According to the court, where the Constitution has already prescribed qualifications and disqualifications for elective offices, the Electoral Act cannot introduce additional conditions that effectively restrict otherwise qualified persons from participating in party primaries.

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The appeal arose from a judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar on May 5, 2026, dismissing the Zenith Party’s suit challenging the constitutionality of the disputed provisions.

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The party had argued that the provisions unlawfully interfered with the internal administration of political parties and curtailed their constitutional powers to determine their membership and nominate candidates.

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Among the provisions nullified by the appellate court was Section 77(5), which required that only party members whose names appeared in the membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission could vote or be voted for during party primaries, congresses and conventions.

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The court held that the provision unlawfully restricted the constitutional powers of political parties to regulate their own membership.

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It also invalidated Section 77(6), which prohibited parties from using any membership register other than the one previously submitted to INEC, holding that it vested excessive control over the internal affairs of political parties in the electoral umpire.

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The appellate court further struck down Section 77(7), which barred political parties that failed to submit their membership registers within the prescribed period from fielding candidates in an election.

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According to the court, such a consequence effectively deprived political parties of their constitutional right to sponsor candidates for elective offices.

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Justice Nyesom-Wike also declared Section 84(2) unconstitutional, holding that limiting political parties to direct primaries or consensus as methods of candidate nomination amounted to undue legislative interference in their internal affairs.

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The court noted that political parties should retain the constitutional discretion to determine their mode of selecting candidates in accordance with their constitutions.

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However, the appellate court clarified that its decision did not invalidate the entirety of Sections 77 and 84 of the Electoral Act.

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It explained that provisions requiring political parties to maintain membership registers and make them available to INEC remained valid, adding that only the specific subsections found to be inconsistent with the Constitution were struck down.

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