2027: What Will Happen To Parties Who Fielded Candidates Whose Names Were Not On Registers Submitted – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that political parties that fielded candidates whose names were missing from the membership registers submitted to the commission will be disqualified from participating in the 2027 general elections.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this during an appearance on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme on Wednesday evening.

Haruna’s comments come in response to a landmark Supreme Court judgment that affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6), and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026, while upholding INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 polls.

The National Commissioner emphasized that non-compliant political parties would not be permitted to substitute affected candidates, stating that no party would be allowed to profit from its own regulatory breach.

Explaining the commission’s position, Haruna said:“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it.”

“You remember cases that we had of some in Zamfara, you remember Plateau? The same thing. The parties, because they did the wrong thing, they thought they could now steal through the candidates.”

“And the law was very clear. Once you do that kind of thing, you cannot benefit from it. You are benefiting from it if you are able to substitute a candidate.”

He warned that the legal consequences of the apex court’s ruling could have a devastating impact on several party structures across all elective positions.

Warning of the widespread implications, Haruna added:“All the candidates, all the way to the Houses of Assembly, we interviewed them. If their names are not on the party register, they were not members of the party at the time that they contested for those tickets.”

He noted that depending on how quickly the commission finishes its ongoing review, “some parties may not be able to finish with even governorship candidates.”

Addressing anxieties within political circles, Haruna revealed that INEC received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment on Tuesday and is currently consulting its legal team before issuing a formal declaration by Tuesday next week.

On the need for caution before making a public pronouncement, he stated:“You can’t be too careful with these things because even when you see copies and they tell you it’s a CTC, it may be forged.”

“We’ve seen instances where people have even gone, have the audacity to forge a Supreme Court judgment. So, we have to be very careful to make sure that when you took us, we did put a lot of pressure and we were able to get it yesterday [Tuesday].”