INEC gives political parties 14 days to challenge exclusion of candidates from 2027 elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission has given political parties affected by its recent decision to delist several governorship candidates contesting the 2027 elections 14 days to file a formal challenge.

Citing the Supreme Court’s September 24 judgement on party membership, INEC removed several governorship candidates, mostly from opposition parties, from what it described as the final lists of candidates for the upcoming elections published last week, sparking widespread public condemnation.

Among the prominent candidates delisted by INEC were Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidates Isa Pantami of Gombe State and Ladi Adebutu of Ogun State, while All Progressives Congress candidates implicated in similar party membership irregularities were retained.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, INEC said it published the so-called “final list” days before the Supreme Court’s judgement, adding that political parties aggrieved by the omission of their candidates must formally notify the commission by October 24, 2026.

“The final list of Presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been published on 12th September, 2026, thirteen days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgement.

“Under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly left off the list have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission. The deadline is 24th October, 2026,” INEC explained.

Meanwhile, INEC maintained that the delisting was not its own decision but a consequence of the apex court’s ruling in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, which requires political parties to submit their membership registers as a prerequisite for conducting valid primaries.

“In accordance with Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission, while finalising the list of candidates for the Governorship election, applied the above decision of the Supreme Court and excluded political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to fielding of candidates,” INEC added.