INEC Unveils Draft Guidelines for 2027 Elections

In Abuja on Tuesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission unveiled draft regulations and guidelines for political parties, aiming to align electoral processes with the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026 ahead of Nigeria's 2027 general elections. During the consultative meeting with party leaders, the Labour Party announced it had zoned its presidential ticket to southern Nigeria, barring aspirants from the north.

INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu presented the revised framework, emphasizing its necessity to update outdated procedures and incorporate lessons from past elections. The guidelines address key areas including party registration and mergers, internal operations, candidate selection through primaries, campaign conduct, financial transparency, and conditions for deregistration. Yakubu highlighted provisions to enhance fairness in primaries, which have historically faced criticism for opacity and imposition of candidates, leading to voter disengagement and legal disputes. "These guidelines are designed to sanitize party primaries and eliminate opaque processes," he said, noting that the reforms draw on empirical data from the Political Party Performance Index,...