2027: Anxiety As INEC To Decide Fate Of Candidates Over Supreme Court Judgement 

ABUJA — Anxiety has heightened among governorship, senatorial and State Assembly candidates over possible disqualification as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is expected to take a final decision today on implications of the Supreme Court judgement on the 2027 general elections.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgement delivered on September 24, 2026, by Justice Adamu Jauro, 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 elections.

The apex court had restored the provisions which were earlier invalidated by the Court of Appeal following a suit filed by the Zenith Labour Party.

Under the restored provisions, Section 77(5) provides that only members whose names appear in a political party’s membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before its primary, congress or convention are eligible to vote and be voted for. Section 77(6) prohibits parties from using any register other than the one submitted to the Commission, while Section 77(7) provides that a party that fails to submit its register within the statutory period may be precluded from fielding candidates.

INEC had on Saturday released names of governorship and state assembly candidates to meet statutory obligations, a publication which, according to findings, was done without recourse to the Supreme Court judgement.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, is scheduled to meet with top officials of the Commission today, after which the Commission will issue a statement to the public.

INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, had earlier said the Commission received the Certified True Copy of the judgement and was reviewing its implications, noting that by next week a decision would be taken.

Haruna warned that political parties that fielded candidates whose names were not on the registers submitted to the Commission may not be allowed to participate in the 2027 elections, and would not be allowed to substitute such candidates.

“It’s too late to do anything. The parties won’t even be able to contest. It’s like you committed an offence and you want to come and benefit,” he said, citing precedents in Zamfara and Plateau states. 

The judgement has raised questions about politicians who changed parties shortly before their primaries, though the Supreme Court did not expressly disqualify any individual candidate, leaving validity of nominations dependent on compliance with legal requirements.