The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the appeal by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against a Court of Appeal judgment that voided parts of the Electoral Act 2026 on political party primaries and membership registers.
A seven-member panel 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 trial court.
The court held that Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act do not conflict with the 1999 Constitution.
It also awarded N2 million in costs against the ZLP.
Also, the court in two other judgments dismissed two separate appeals, filed by Social Democratic Party and the Youth Party, that also filed seperate appeals against INEC.
The two political parties filed appeals to challenge the decisions of the court of appeal in their cases.
In SDP v INEC, the appeal was heard on its merit and was accordingly dismissed by the court.
In Youth Party’s appeal, the preliminary objection filed by INEC was upheld and the appeal was struck out for being incompetent.
The court described the 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 dismissed the party’s action in a judgment delivered on May 5, 2026.
Dissatisfied, the ZLP appealed and 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 party primaries and membership register.
The appellate court’s decision prompted INEC to approach the apex court according to the commission’s brief of argument filed in the appeal.
The ZLP at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenged the provisions of the Electoral Act, describing is as being inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
In its appeal, INEC urged the court to dismissed the appeal filed by YP and SDP.
The provisions at the centre of the dispute include Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) concern the 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.
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 is anchored, among others, on Sections 221 and 222 of the Constitution, which provide for the constitutional framework governing political parties.
After the Federal High Court dismissed the suit, the ZLP appealed, leading to the Court of Appeal’s July 16 judgment.
