INEC commences review of primaries’ guidelines

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a review of Regulations and Guidelines for conduct of primaries by Political Parties, vowing to sanitise party operations and enforce stricter compliance standards ahead of the 2027 general elections. The three-day technical workshop, which opened Wednesday in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, is coming weeks after the […]

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a review of Regulations and Guidelines for conduct of primaries by Political Parties, vowing to sanitise party operations and enforce stricter compliance standards ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The three-day technical workshop, which opened Wednesday in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, is coming weeks after the signing of the Electoral Act 2026 and the release of the commission’s revised timetable for the 2027 polls.

Under the new schedule, presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections are fixed for February 6, 2027. Party primaries are slated between April 23 and May 30, 2026.

Declaring the workshop open, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, described the exercise as a critical institutional realignment to harmonise the commission’s regulatory framework with the new law.

“We meet at a watershed moment in our democratic journey,” he said, noting that the Electoral Act 2026 has recalibrated statutory timelines and compressed the operational window for electoral activities.

He stressed that the review was beyond a routine administrative exercise, but a deliberate move to strengthen accountability within political parties.

“We are not just editing a document. We are aligning our Regulations and Guidelines with the 2026 Act to ensure that our electoral architecture is not only robust in theory but strong in practice,” Amupitan said.

The INEC boss identified the conduct of party primaries as a major focus of the reforms, warning that opaque nomination processes could erode public trust and trigger pre-election litigations.

“The quality of internal party democracy has a direct bearing on the election conducted by INEC. If candidates emerge through opaque processes, we face voter apathy and an explosion of pre-election litigation,” he cautioned.

He also raised concerns over recurring leadership tussles and intra-party disputes that frequently end up in court, often with the commission joined as a party.

“Each day spent defending avoidable intra-party disputes is a day diverted from our primary mandate of election planning,” he said, adding that while INEC would remain neutral, it would enforce compliance firmly and consistently.

Amupitan disclosed that the revised 2026 Guidelines would introduce stricter benchmarks for membership documentation, financial transparency and inclusion of women, youth and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

He cited Sections 83(5) and (6) of the Electoral Act 2026, which remove the jurisdiction of courts over internal party affairs, reinforcing judicial precedent on party autonomy.

Anchoring the commission’s authority on Section 160 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 151 of the Electoral Act 2026, he assured stakeholders that INEC would remain guided strictly by the law. “The sovereign will of the Nigerian people must remain sacrosanct from the point of candidate nomination to the final declaration of results,” he said.

 

In his remarks, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Election and Party Monitoring Committee (EPMC), Dr. Baba Bila, described the review as strategic and timely, being the first comprehensive regulatory exercise since the enactment of the new law.

 

He explained that the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines covering party registration and de-registration, party operations, primaries, campaigns and campaign finance reporting require structural refinement and substantive amendments to reflect the new statutory provisions.

 

Also speaking, Country Director of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Nigeria, Mr. Adebowale Olorunmola, reaffirmed the organisation’s technical support to the commission.

 

He said the new law made it imperative for guidelines and regulations to be strengthened to give full effect to the Electoral Act 2026, urging stakeholders to build inclusive and internally democratic political parties.

 

INEC said the outcome of the review would produce a clearer and more coherent regulatory framework to guide political parties and safeguard the integrity of the 2027 general elections.