Court of Appeal Upholds INEC’s Authority to Fix 2027 Election Timetable

The Court of Appeal has affirmed the legality of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) timetable for the 2027 general elections, overturning a Federal High Court judgment that declared the schedule invalid.

Delivering a unanimous decision on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court ruled that the lower court erred in nullifying the electoral timetable issued by INEC.

The appellate court held that the revised timetable is subsidiary legislation under the Electoral Act 2026 and therefore enjoys the same force of law as the principal legislation. It further ruled that INEC acted within the powers granted to it by law and that every deadline contained in the timetable falls within the framework of the Electoral Act.

INEC had approached the Court of Appeal after the Federal High Court, in a judgment delivered on May 20, invalidated its timelines for party primaries, candidate nominations and related electoral processes.

In its appeal, filed on May 25, the commission raised nine grounds, arguing that the lower court failed to resolve a jurisdictional issue, denied it fair hearing and wrongly entertained what it described as an academic suit filed by the Youth Party.

The electoral body also argued that the Federal High Court wrongly interpreted Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026, insisting the judgment did not reflect the evidence before the court.

INEC further asked the appellate court to dismiss the Youth Party’s case on the grounds that the party lacked the legal standing to institute the suit.

The Federal High Court had earlier ruled that INEC lacked the authority to impose deadlines earlier than those prescribed by the Electoral Act for party primaries, candidate substitutions and publication of the final list of candidates. It also voided the commission’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit their membership registers and databases.

Justice Mohammed Umar held that INEC could not lawfully shorten the statutory periods provided under Sections 29(1), 31 and 32 of the Electoral Act 2026.

The case, filed by the Youth Party and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, sought a declaration that INEC’s statutory powers do not include fixing the timeframe within which political parties must conduct primary elections.

The Court of Appeal has now reversed that decision, restoring INEC’s revised timetable for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

Africans Angle News