INEC to decide on Supreme Court judgement today

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will announce its stance on the Supreme Court's recent ruling concerning the 2027 elections today. The judgement affirmed the constitutionality of specific sections within the Electoral Act 2026 and approved INEC's revised election timeline. INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan revealed that the commission received the official copy of the judgement and is currently assessing its contents.

Concerns have been mounting since the ruling was announced on September 24, especially regarding candidates who switched political parties after their original parties had already initiated or concluded nomination processes.

INEC has received 112 formal complaints from aspirants, candidates, and political parties about the nomination procedure, and they have managed to resolve all of them, barring those still under court scrutiny. On Saturday, INEC disclosed the names of candidates for governor and state assembly positions, fulfilling a statutory requirement.

However, it is believed that these names were released without considering the Supreme Court's judgement. Sources suggest that INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan will convene with key personnel from the commission to finalize their response to the judgement today. Amupitan stated that after the meeting, INEC would release a public statement detailing their position.

There is ongoing discussion about whether INEC possesses the authority to disqualify candidates independently based on the Supreme Court's decision.