The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that some political parties may lose the opportunity to field candidates in the 2027 elections if the names of those candidates were not contained in membership registers submitted to the commission in accordance with the law.
INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Wednesday evening while speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme, during an explanation of the implications of the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 judgment on the Electoral Act 2026.
The Supreme Court had affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.
Haruna said affected political parties would also not be allowed to substitute candidates whose names were not contained in the relevant membership registers, arguing that parties should not be permitted to benefit from violations of the law.
“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it. You remember cases that we had of some in Zamfara, you remember Plateau? The same thing.
“The parties, because they did the wrong thing, they thought they could now steal through the candidates.
“And the law was very clear. Once you do that kind of thing, you cannot benefit from it. You are benefiting from it, if you are able to substitute a candidate,” he said.
The national commissioner said the outcome of INEC’s ongoing review could mean that some political parties would be unable to field candidates for certain elective positions in the 2027 elections.
“All the candidates, all the way to the Houses of Assembly, we interviewed them. If their names are not on the party register, they were not members of the party at the time that they contested for those tickets,” Haruna said.
He disclosed that INEC was expected to make a definite pronouncement on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by Tuesday next week.
Haruna explained that the commission had delayed its final position because it needed to obtain legal advice after receiving the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment.
He said INEC was exercising caution because forged copies of court judgments had been presented in the past, including purported copies of Supreme Court decisions.
“You can’t be too careful with these things because even when you see copies and they tell you it’s a CTC, it may be forged. We’ve seen instances where people have even gone, have the audacity to forge a Supreme Court judgment.
“So, we have to be very careful to make sure that when you took us, we did put a lot of pressure and we were able to get it yesterday (Tuesday),” he said.
The commission is expected to issue its formal position after completing its legal review, with its decision potentially affecting the ability of some political parties to field candidates across various elective positions in the 2027 general elections.
