• As court dismisses suit against INEC, 19 parties over fees
Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has criticised the newly released 2026 regulations and guidelines for political parties.

It described the guidelines released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as overregulated, impracticable and insufficient to guarantee credible elections ahead of 2027.

The group said that although the guidelines reflected some reform efforts, they fell short of the structural changes required to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system.

The MCE, in a statement issued yesterday and signed by its Head of National Secretariat, Olawale Okunniyi, acknowledged INEC’s intention to enhance transparency, particularly in the conduct of party primaries, but argued that “good intentions cannot substitute for sound policy design.”

It noted that the framework was overly bureaucratic and silent on critical elements of electoral credibility.

The group warned that the guidelines represented an expansion of regulatory control into the internal affairs of political parties, which could undermine the constitutional right to freedom of association and weaken internal party democracy.

Aligning with concerns raised by the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), MCE said restrictive provisions around primary elections could trigger disputes, weaken party structures, and alienate grassroots participants.

MCE also faulted the requirement for political parties to submit comprehensive membership registers, including National Identification Numbers (NINs), within a short timeframe, describing it as unrealistic and exclusionary.

According to the group, millions of Nigerians remain outside the national identity database, and such provisions could disenfranchise legitimate party members while disproportionately affecting smaller political parties.

The group raised concerns over INEC’s admission of operating within a compressed timetable, warning that rushed processes could lead to errors, disputes, and litigation, thereby undermining electoral credibility.

MCE also described as “most alarming” the lack of clear provisions mandating the electronic transmission of election results, a key demand by many Nigerians in recent electoral cycles.

MCE argued that any framework that fails to guarantee real-time, transparent, and verifiable transmission of results could not rebuild public trust in the electoral process.

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, dismissed a suit filed by a human rights lawyer, Ejime Okolie, against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and 19 political parties.

Okolie had filed the case to challenge the alleged imposition of outrageous Expression of Interest (EoI) and nomination fees for card-carrying members vying for political offices by parties in the country.

Justice Binta Nyako, in a judgment, dismissed the suit because the issue raised by the lawyer fell extremely within the internal affairs of political parties and that the court would not interfere in such cases.

According to Justice Nyako, the fact that the fees charged by a political party are too high does not amount to a constitutional wrong.