The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has explained the Commission’s decision to appeal two recent Federal High Court judgments that questioned aspects of its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 General Election, saying the rulings could create uncertainty and disrupt the electoral process.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Second Quarterly Consultative Meeting with Leaders of Political Parties in Abuja, Amupitan said the judgments raised significant legal questions regarding INEC’s constitutional and statutory powers to coordinate and regulate election-related activities.
According to him, one judgment delivered on May 20, 2026, in a suit filed by the Youth Party challenged certain timelines contained in the Commission’s election timetable, while another ruling delivered on May 26, 2026, in a case instituted by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), affirmed INEC’s authority to issue an electoral timetable but nullified some timelines relating to candidate nomination and substitution.
The INEC chairman stated that the Commission had appealed both judgments to obtain authoritative interpretations from higher courts. He stressed that electoral activities are interconnected processes that require a harmonised schedule to ensure transparency, certainty, administrative efficiency and equal treatment of all political parties.
Amupitan noted that several critical election activities, including verification of party membership registers, monitoring of party primaries, printing of ballot papers, configuration of BVAS machines and inspection of election materials, are not assigned specific timelines under the Electoral Act but must be accommodated within the overall electoral calendar.
He assured stakeholders that despite the pending appeals, INEC remains committed to conducting the 2027 General Election in full compliance with the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
The chairman also provided updates on preparations for the June 20, 2026, Ekiti State governorship election, revealing that the state’s voter register now contains 1,059,360 registered voters following the addition of 66,664 new registrants. He added that 2,103 cases of double registration had been invalidated to protect the integrity of the register.
Amupitan said logistics, technology deployment and training of election officials were progressing as planned, with all 2,445 polling units across Ekiti’s 16 local government areas expected to open simultaneously at 8:30 a.m. on election day.
He further announced that six bye-elections would hold on the same day in Enugu North, Nasarawa North, Rivers South-East and Ondo South Senatorial Districts, as well as Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency in Kano State and Zuru State Constituency in Kebbi State.
On preparations for the 2027 elections, the INEC chairman disclosed that political parties would receive access codes to the Candidate Nomination Portal on June 26, warning that the automated system would close at the end of the prescribed submission period without extension.
Responding on behalf of political parties, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, endorsed INEC’s decision to challenge the court rulings, describing the judgments as conflicting and capable of creating confusion among political parties and candidates.
Dantalle also urged the National Assembly to review the Electoral Act 2026, particularly provisions governing party primaries, arguing that some sections had created operational difficulties and contributed to disputes that are now before the courts.
He further condemned political violence in Osun State and called on politicians to embrace peaceful, issue-based campaigns ahead of upcoming governorship elections and the 2027 General Election.
