The door closes today on political parties submitting their electronic membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 general elections. INEC had extended the deadline to May 10, 2026, but that date fell on a non-working day, leaving parties to move on the next working day, Monday, according to analysts.
The stakes are immediate. Under the Electoral Act 2026, failure to meet the deadline means a party cannot field candidates. The law also says each party must make its register available to the commission not later than 21 days before the date fixed for its primaries, congresses or conventions, and that only members whose names appear in that register can vote and be voted for. It adds that a party cannot use any other register for primaries, congresses or conventions except the one submitted to INEC.
That has put inec registration at the center of a race that affects aspirants across the All Progressives Congress, the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. The deadline matters because many aspirants could be locked out of the 2027 contest if their parties miss it, and all primaries are supposed to be concluded by May 30.
The uncertainty is sharper in parties where leadership disputes remain unresolved. In the ADC, the Supreme Court recognised David Mark as national chairman but sent the matter back to the Federal High Court for further hearing. INEC had earlier deleted the names of Mark and his National Working Committee from its portal while it waited for the outcome of the case with Nafiu Bala Gombe. The high court then adjourned the matter sine die on Thursday.
For parties, the issue is not just paperwork. Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026 ties membership registers directly to who can participate in primaries and who can emerge from them. That means the register submitted to INEC is now the gatekeeper for the next round of candidate selection, and any gap between the legal deadline and a party’s internal dispute could have consequences in court as well as at the ballot box.
The immediate question now is whether every party that wants to compete in 2027 has actually cleared the register hurdle. If it has not, the law gives a blunt answer: no register, no candidates.
