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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has expressed commitment to ensuring its regulations and guidelines on political parties are enforced to the letter ahead of the party primaries.
It noted that this comes following a deluge of intra-party fighting, crises, and the foisting of unpopular candidates, which had resulted in either voter apathy or unnecessary litigations.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan SAN, stated this in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, at the opening of a Technical Workshop on the Revision of INEC Regulations and Guidelines for political parties, organised by the commission in partnership with Westminster Foundation for Democracy on Wednesday.
The chairman said the 2026 guidelines will introduce stricter benchmarks for membership documentation, financial transparency, and the inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
He regretted that political parties, rather than being used as vehicles for national transformation, are currently witnessing a disturbing trend of leadership squabbles and infighting that threaten to turn them into theatres of permanent strife, saying the commission was ready to address the issues with the new guidelines.
He said a day spent defending these intra-party disputes in court “is a day diverted from the primary mandate of election planning.”
The statement in parts: “Our collective commitment is being challenged by leadership squabbles and judicialised politics. In the last cycle alone, INEC was joined in scores of suits that could have been avoided by simple adherence to party constitutions. As an independent body, we remain neutral, but we are no longer passive observers.
“Political parties in Nigeria face the crisis of internal democracy. Of grave concern is the quality of party primaries. As we move towards the primary window of April 23 to May 30, 2026, we must enforce a level playing field. The quality of internal party democracy has a direct bearing on the secondary elections conducted by INEC.
“We are telling all stakeholders that while INEC remains a neutral umpire, we are fully committed to enforcing the rules of the game to ensure that the sovereign will of the Nigerian people remains sacrosanct. We must ensure that the 2026 regulations are devoid of ambiguities. Let us build a framework that protects the sovereign will of the Nigerian people from the point of candidate nomination to the final declaration of results.”
In his goodwill message, the Country Director of Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Mr. Adebowale Olorunmola, explained the need for the guidelines and regulations to be improved in order to give bite to the Electoral Act, noting that there are some changes in the passage and assent of the new Electoral Act.
He said, “The 2022 edition of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines served us well in the conduct of the 2023 general elections and other subsequent elections. However, current realities are no longer what they were four years ago. Today, we are tasked with bridging the gap between the letter of the 2026 Act and the practical, day-to-day operations of our political parties.”
Earlier, in welcome remarks, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Obo Efanga, described the workshop as strategic and significant, noting that the review and updating of the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022, could not have come at a better time.
He said the workshop was designed to consider the implications of the Electoral Act 2026 on its regulations and guidelines for various electoral activities.
2027: We must enforce all guidelines, regulations – INEC warns political parties
