The Independent National Electoral Commission has officially appealed the Federal High Court judgment that voided the timelines issued for the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates for the 2027 general elections. In documents filed on Monday, April 25, the electoral body also submitted a motion for a stay of execution, seeking to halt the enforcement of the lower courts ruling pending the outcome of the appeal at the Court of Appeal. The commission, through its counsel Alex Izinyon, filed a notice of appeal based on nine grounds, arguing that the trial judge erred in law by failing to pronounce on the jurisdictional issue that the suit was hypothetical and academic. INEC further contended that the judge’s narrow interpretation of sections 29, 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026 was incorrect and that the court denied the commission a fair hearing. The appeal follows the judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, who held that INEC lacks the statutory power to fix or prescribe the timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries, stating that the commissions revised timetable imposed restrictive deadlines that contradicted the provisions of the Electoral Act. The suit was originally filed by the Youth Party challenging the commissions schedule, which required parties to submit membership registers by May 10 and conduct primaries before the end of May. The court ruled that INEC cannot use administrative guidelines to abridge the statutory periods expressly provided for in the Electoral Act. In its motion for a stay of execution, INEC is asking the appellate court to suspend the high courts judgment while the appeal is being heard, warning that the ruling could disrupt election planning and logistics. The commission is seeking an order to set aside the judgment entirely, arguing that the Youth Party lacked the legal standing to bring the suit. Meanwhile, political reactions have continued to trail the legal battle, with the Inter-Party Advisory Council and several opposition parties welcoming the high court ruling as a victory for constitutional democracy and the rule of law. IPAC had described the judgment as a reaffirmation that INEC guidelines can never be superior to the constitution. Legal experts noted that unless the Court of Appeal grants the stay of execution, the judgment stands, effectively giving political parties more flexibility and potentially reopening the window for defections ahead of the 2027 elections. The Court of Appeal is yet to fix a date for the hearing of INEC’s appeal.
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