INEC Challenges Court Decision Voiding Parts of 2027 Election Guidelines

The Independent National Electoral Commission has asked the court to suspend enforcement of the Federal High Court ruling that voided parts of its 2027 general election guidelines, pending its appeal.

The commission, in a notice of appeal dated and filed on May 25 through its lawyer, Alex Izinyon, SAN, filed a motion for stay of execution of the judgement, pending the hearing and determination of its appeal at the Court of Appeal.

The case stemmed from a suit reportedly filed by the Youth Party (YP) challenging the legality of INEC’s Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 general election.

Justice Mohammed Umar, in a judgement delivered last Wednesday, struck down sections of the commission’s revised timetable for the polls after finding them inconsistent with provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

However, the commission argued that the trial judge’s interpretation of Sections 29(1), 82, and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026 did not permit the restricted, narrow interpretation accorded by the court.

INEC further argued that the judgement was not supported by the evidence presented before the court. It also accused the trial judge of failing to apply Section 151 of the Electoral Act 2026 properly.

The commission referred to the judge’s position that “it is to be noted that Section 151 of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates the defendant to issue regulations, guidelines or manuals for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Electoral Act and for its administration.”

The commission listed nine grounds of appeal and maintained that the Federal High Court failed to address its objection that the suit was merely hypothetical and academic. According to the commission, that omission denied it a fair hearing.

The commission referred to the judge’s position that “it is to be noted that Section 151 of the Electoral Act, 2026, mandates the defendant to issue regulations, guidelines or manuals for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Electoral Act and for its administration.”

According to INEC, the court ignored binding precedents of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal on the commission’s authority to fix election timetables.

The electoral body also faulted the lower court for concluding that its revised timetable had unlawfully restricted political activities ahead of the 2027 elections. It argued that the judge wrongly declared the Youth Party’s suit meritorious and granted all the reliefs sought by the party.

The judge, in a judgment delivered on a suit brought by the Youth Party (YP), held that INEC’s action imposed restrictive timeframes on political parties for the conduct of primaries and other pre-election activities contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.

The ruling has heightened political tension by extending INEC’s deadline for closing party registers and for politicians to switch parties. It remains unclear whether the stay application will slow defections, as some politicians who lost their parties’ primaries have already moved to other parties to seek tickets for the 2027 elections.

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