The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has declared unconstitutional key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 regulating political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates for elections.

In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday by a three-member panel, the appellate court allowed an appeal filed by the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court.

The judgement had earlier dismissed the party's suit challenging the constitutionality of the disputed provisions.

The court specifically struck down Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.

The court held that the provisions were inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and amounted to an unlawful encroachment on the constitutional powers and internal administration of political parties.

The invalidated provisions required political parties to submit their membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at least 21 days before holding congresses, conventions or primary elections.

They also restricted participation in such exercises to members whose names appeared on the registers submitted to INEC.

Section 84(2), which was also nullified, prescribed the methods political parties should adopt in nominating candidates for elective offices, including direct primaries and consensus.

In its judgment, the Court of Appeal held that while INEC possesses constitutional powers to regulate elections, the National Assembly exceeded its constitutional authority by enacting provisions that interfere with the internal affairs of political parties beyond what is permitted by the Constitution.

The appellate court ruled that the Constitution guarantees political parties the right to regulate their internal affairs and that the invalidated sections of the Electoral Act unlawfully curtailed those rights.

The judgment overturned the May 5, 2026 decision of the Federal High Court, which had dismissed the ZLP's suit for lacking merit and upheld the validity of the contested provisions.