\nBy George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
As the 2027 election draws close, the Nigeria Senate on Thursday passed the 2026 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, introducing clearer rules on which courts can hear pre\u2011election disputes in a bid to curb conflicting judgments and delays.<\/p>\n
The bill was passed following the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on INEC, chaired by Senator Simon Lalong, (APC Plateau South), who said the amendment seeks to resolve longstanding gaps around timelines and jurisdiction in pre\u2011election matters, which have led to inconsistent court rulings and forum shopping.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocracy thrives not merely on the conduct of elections, but also on the credibility, certainty and predictability of the legal processes that precede the elections. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe legitimacy of candidates and the integrity of party primaries are foundational pillars of representative democracy. Where the legal framework regulating pre\u2011election disputes is uncertain or conflicting, the entire electoral architecture becomes vulnerable to confusion, forum shopping, contradictory judgments and unnecessary delays,” Lalong said <\/p>\n
The bill amends Section 29 of the Electoral Act and introduces a new Section 29A to define jurisdictional competence. Under the proposal, an aspirant can file a suit either in the Federal Capital Territory or in the jurisdiction where the cause of action arose, a move Lalong said would reduce hardship for litigants and improve access to justice.<\/p>\n
More significantly, Section 29A establishes a clear structure: pre\u2011election matters involving the National Assembly, governorship and state houses of assembly will originate at the Federal High Court, with appeals going to the Court of Appeal. <\/p>\n
Matters relating to the offices of President and Vice President will originate at the Court of Appeal exercising original jurisdiction, with appeals lying to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Lalong said the structure reflects constitutional logic and judicial efficiency. <\/p>\n
Presidential elections, he noted, are national in scope and require expeditious determination by a superior court with nationwide competence. Assigning other pre\u2011election matters to the Federal High Court, he added, promotes specialisation and consistency given INEC\u2019s federal mandate.<\/p>\n
The amendment also bars courts from entertaining pre\u2011election matters outside the new framework, aiming to end the practice of filing multiple suits in different judicial divisions to secure favourable rulings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis amendment introduces certainty and procedural discipline into electoral adjudication. It strengthens electoral justice, deepens democratic accountability and reinforces public confidence in our electoral process,\u201d Lalong further explained.<\/p>\n
Senator Mohammed Monguno (APC Borno), in his contribution, described the amendment as timely and said it would improve the experience of electoral litigation.<\/p>\n
In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the committee for its work and expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would assent to the bill, saying it would deepen democracy and strengthen governance in Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke As the 2027 election draws close, the Nigeria Senate on Thursday passed the 2026 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, introducing clearer rules on which courts can hear pre\u2011election disputes in a bid to curb conflicting judgments and delays. The bill was passed following the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13427"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13430,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13427\/revisions\/13430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}