The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has clarified its exclusion of some political parties that failed to submit their membership registers from its final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship elections.
The electoral umpire said the move followed a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the requirement as mandatory under the Electoral Act, 2026.
The commission said the Supreme Court judgement of September 24, 2026, had affirmed the constitutionality of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, which requires political parties to submit their membership registers as a prerequisite for conducting valid party primaries.
INEC had directed parties to submit the registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the commission applied the Supreme Court’s decision in preparing the final list of governorship candidates, in compliance with the Constitution.
He said the court had made it clear that failure to submit the membership registers disqualified political parties from sponsoring candidates in the elections.
“The Supreme Court, in the aforementioned judgement, held that the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 are constitutional and mandatory for all political parties,” Haruna stated.
He added that the apex court upheld INEC’s timetable requiring political parties to submit their membership registers within the stipulated period.
“In accordance with Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission, while finalizing the list of candidates for the Governorship election applied the above decision of the Supreme Court and excluded political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to fielding of candidates,” he said.
The judgement arose from the case of INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, following INEC’s appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that had nullified the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
The commission, however, clarified that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates had been published on September 12, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgement.
INEC also reminded political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted from the lists that they have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission, in accordance with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
“The deadline is 24th October, 2026,” Haruna said.
The commission reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.
