Lawmakers revise election law, suggest N10m penalty for belonging to multiple parties

The House of Representatives made a significant move on Wednesday, amending the Electoral Act 2026 to make dual membership of political parties a criminal offence, with offenders facing a fine of N10 million or up to two years in prison.

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This amendment, which aims to bolster provisions on political party membership, was passed during a plenary session after lawmakers reviewed it at the Committee of the Whole.

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The new legislation introduces three additional subsections to Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, rendering it unlawful for an individual to belong to multiple political parties simultaneously.

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According to the revised provision, any person found to be registered with more than one political party at the same time will have these memberships deemed null and void.

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The provision explicitly states that "a person shall not be registered as a member of more than one political party at the same time", effectively outlawing dual membership.

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In cases where dual membership is established, the memberships will be invalidated, and the individual will no longer be recognised as a valid member of any political party until the issue is rectified in accordance with the Electoral Act and the affected party's constitution.

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The amendment also imposes severe penalties on violators, including a fine of N10 million or a prison term of up to two years, or both.

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During the debate, lawmakers argued that holding multiple party memberships undermines political integrity and creates complications during party primaries and candidate nominations.

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Abubakar Fulata, representing APC-Jigawa, raised concerns about the amendment's constitutionality, citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association, and suggested that the law should instead limit citizens to membership in only one party at a time.

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Other lawmakers strongly supported the amendment, condemning dual party membership as dishonest and a form of political misrepresentation, with one member stating that "you cannot put your legs in two different houses at the same time" and emphasizing the importance of belonging to one party at a time.

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Lawmakers also discussed how violations would be detected, noting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) already receives party membership registers before primaries, which could help identify individuals registered in multiple parties.

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Some members expressed concern about the potential for individuals to be wrongly implicated if their names appear in multiple party registers without their consent.

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In response, it was clarified that the law applies only to cases where dual membership is established "knowingly", meaning that deliberate action must be proven.

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After deliberations, the Committee of the Whole adopted the clauses of the bill and its long title before the House reverted to plenary to report progress.

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If the amendment is eventually signed into law, it is expected to strengthen the legal framework governing political party affiliation and curb cases of multiple party memberships in Nigeria's electoral process.