Nigeria’s electoral umpire has begun a major overhaul of its internal rules to align with new national laws and prevent the legal disputes that often mar the country’s polls.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed on Sunday that it is reviewing its guidelines for political parties following the assent of the Electoral Act 2026. The move is seen as a pre-emptive strike against the “opaque” party primaries and membership disputes that have historically clogged Nigerian courts and delayed election preparations.
Fixing the ‘foundation’
Speaking ahead of a technical workshop, INEC Chairman Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan said the reforms are essential for public trust.”For elections to inspire confidence, the institutions that produce candidates must themselves operate transparently,” he said. The commission is focusing on several key areas of reform:
Financial accountability: Stricter monitoring of how parties are funded.
Internal democracy: Ensuring candidate nominations are transparent to reduce pre-election litigation.
Inclusivity: Setting measurable benchmarks for the participation of women, youth, and people with disabilities.
Data-driven oversight: Using a new “Political Party Performance Index” to flag systemic weaknesses in party governance..
Global standards
The review is being supported by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), a UK-based body that provides expertise on parliamentary and electoral systems worldwide. Adebowale Olorunmola, WFD’s country director in Nigeria, described the process as a “reconstruction of the democratic foundation,” suggesting that political parties must now meet the same integrity standards as the electoral commission itself.
Why this matters
Nigeria’s elections are frequently overshadowed by “pre-election matters”—legal battles between party members over who should be on the ballot. By tightening the rules early in the 2027 cycle, INEC hopes to clear the legal runway well before voters head to the polls.
The draft of the new regulations will undergo a validation process before being presented to the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the umbrella body for Nigeria’s registered political parties.
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