S’Court ruling: Tension as INEC keeps affected candidates guessing

THERE is anxiety among  political parties and candidates affected by penultimate week’s decision of Supreme Court ahead of the publication of final list of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on October 10.

Yesterday, the electoral umpire, which will meet with parties and stakeholders on Tuesday, kept the candidates guessing.

The INEC said it has applied for the certified true copy of the Supreme Court’s latest judgement and hopes to receive it  today, a day before the Commission’s scheduled national engagement with stakeholders and a World Press Conference.

Its National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education Committee, Malam Mohammed Kudu Haruna, told Vanguard that the document had not yet reached the Commission as of Sunday(yesterday). 

“The commission is yet to receive the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgement. Hopefully we will do so tomorrow, (Monday). Until we do so and deliberate on it we cannot make any pronouncement on the issue,” he said.

The Director of Voter Education and Publicity at INEC, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, confirmed that the application had been made. “The Commission had applied for the CTC and an opinion will be offered on the import of the latest Judgment of the Supreme Court,” she said.

On September 23, 2026, before the judgement was delivered, INEC had announced that it would hold a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders Engagement on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, as part of continuing preparations for the 2027 general election.

None of the official said whether or not the commission will address the judgement at the event, and no timeline has been given for its opinion.

The commission’s position comes 10 days after the Supreme Court, on September 24, 2026, delivered its ruling on Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026. The court set aside the July 16, 2026 judgement of the Court of Appeal, which had voided several restrictive sections of the Act as unconstitutional.

The ruling restored the requirement that political parties submit verified membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before any primary, congress or convention. Only persons whose names appear on the submitted register are eligible to vote or contest.

Political parties held several congresses and primaries while the Court of Appeal judgement stood. Those processes now face legal uncertainty, with opposition parties reported to be reviewing the registers submitted to INEC against the dates on which candidates defected.

INEC’s silence leaves open the question of how it will treat candidates whose names have already been published. The commission says an opinion will come only after it studies the judgement.