2027: INEC Rejects Primary Conducted after May 30 Deadline

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has maintained that any political party primary conducted after its May 30, 2026 deadline remains invalid, pending the outcome of an appeal challenging a Federal High Court judgment that questioned aspects of the commission’s election timetable.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, stated this in an interview with The PUNCH, stressing that political parties must continue to operate within the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 until the appellate court delivers its verdict.

According to Haruna, parties that fail to comply with the commission’s stipulated deadline risk having their primaries declared invalid unless the Court of Appeal overturns the lower court’s ruling.

“Obviously, for now, any primary held outside INEC’s May 30 deadline will be invalid unless the Court of Appeal overturns the Federal High Court judgment in INEC’s appeal against the ruling that the timetable breached the Electoral Act 2026 in some of its provisions.

“In other words, for now, the political parties are better advised to be guided by the existing Act,” he said.

His remarks come amid an ongoing legal battle over INEC’s timetable for party primaries and candidate nominations ahead of the 2027 general election.

The controversy began after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified portions of the commission’s electoral guidelines and schedule for the 2027 polls in a suit instituted by the Youth Party.

In the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026, the court held that INEC lacked the authority to shorten timelines prescribed under Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 for the submission of party membership registers and candidates’ particulars.

Justice Umar further ruled that the electoral body exceeded its statutory powers by abridging timelines already stipulated in the Electoral Act.

Following the judgment, INEC filed an appeal and applied for a stay of execution, arguing that its timetable was issued in accordance with its constitutional and legal mandate to regulate the electoral process.

Prior to the court decision, the commission had fixed April 23 to May 30, 2026, as the period within which political parties were expected to conduct primaries for the 2027 elections, while also directing strict compliance with other activities contained in its election schedule.

In a related development, another Federal High Court judge, Justice James Omotosho, upheld INEC’s authority to issue and modify election timetables.

Delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Social Democratic Party and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/720/2026, Justice Omotosho affirmed that the commission possesses constitutional powers to determine election schedules and related activities.

The judge, however, cautioned that such powers must be exercised strictly within the framework and timelines established by the Electoral Act 2026.

The legal uncertainty comes as political parties continue to grapple with disputes arising from their recently concluded primaries.

In Kaduna State, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Primary Election Appeals Committee ordered fresh elections in several federal and state constituencies after reviewing petitions submitted by aggrieved aspirants.

Chairman of the committee, Dr Muhammed Fagge, said the panel examined complaints, documentary evidence and submissions before reaching its conclusions.

According to him, the committee uncovered cases of irregularities and alleged electoral malpractice in some of the contests.

As a result, several primaries were declared inconclusive, while reruns were ordered in constituencies where the committee identified serious procedural violations, omission of aspirants from ballot papers and insufficient evidence that voting actually took place.

One of the affected constituencies was the Ikara/Kubau Federal Constituency, where the committee directed a fresh primary after finding that Ibrahim Kubau, a duly screened aspirant, had been excluded from the ballot.

The panel also ordered a rerun in the Kaduna South Federal Constituency, citing a lack of credible proof that elections were conducted across all wards.

Fagge disclosed that rerun elections would take place in several affected areas, including Kaura, Soba, Ikara, Kajuru, Badarawa/Malali, Magajin Gari II, Birnin Gwari, Tudun Wada West, Igabi, Kagarko, Kawo, Zaria, Chikun/Kajuru and Kudan/Makarfi.

He said the committee’s decisions were intended to preserve the integrity and credibility of the party’s nomination process.

The panel also ruled on the Kaduna North Senatorial District primary, declaring that any consensus or affirmation arrangement would only be valid if it enjoyed the consent of all stakeholders involved.

Fagge stressed that no aspirant should be denied a fair opportunity to contest due to administrative lapses or electoral irregularities.

Despite the ongoing legal contest over its timetable, INEC’s latest position indicates that, until the Court of Appeal decides otherwise, any primary election conducted beyond the May 30 deadline remains at risk of being invalidated.