2027 Elections: Political Parties Risk Disqualification Due to Tight Deadlines, Nomination Bottleneck

Nigerian political taking part in the 2027 general elections have been reminded about the critical demands they have to meet for their candidates to be cleared to contest in the polls. These include the submission of digital membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission at least twenty-one days before the conduct of their primaries, congresses, or conventions. This is in line with the Electoral Act 2026, which provides that any political party that fail to comply with the requirement will be disqualified by INEC. The Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, SAMSON ITODO, drew the attention of the political parties to the requirement, ahead of the commencement of party primaries on April 23, 2026. In a post on his social media handle, ITODO who is a pro-democracy advocate and seasoned election observer, noted that the Electoral Act 2026 also prescribes the required format and content for the digital membership register. These includes that each register must contain the name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government area, ward, polling unit, as well as National Identification Number, and photograph. However, it may interest you to noted that most political parties do not possess a digital membership register that meets all requirements outlined in the Electoral Act 2026. SAMSON ITODO said given the strict twenty-one-day submission deadline and the limited time before primaries, parties should promptly update, digitize, and verify their membership registers to ensure compliance.