Nigeria’s Court of Appeal in Abuja voids parts of the Electoral Act that govern party primaries and the use of party membership registers. The court rules that the disputed statutory provisions are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution, according to reports from both outlets.
The decision targets sections of the Electoral Act dealing with how political parties conduct primary elections and how party membership registers are handled for electoral processes. The court holds that these provisions conflict with constitutional sections 221 and 222, which set out requirements related to political parties and their internal governance.
As reported, the ruling effectively removes the affected Electoral Act requirements, meaning political parties cannot rely on the struck-down provisions when carrying out primary elections or managing membership register-related processes until the issues are addressed through legislative or other legal means.
The reports describe the ruling as a judicial interpretation of the hierarchy between the Constitution and the Electoral Act, with the court applying constitutional supremacy to invalidate the inconsistent parts.
