The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has struck down guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission requiring political parties to submit their membership registers and databases by May 10 as a condition for participating in the 2027 general elections.

The ruling was delivered on Thursday by M.G. Umar in a case instituted by the Youth Party.

In his judgement, Justice Umar held that INEC could not lawfully shorten the timeline already provided under Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates political parties to submit the particulars of their candidates no later than 120 days before an election.

The court declared that the electoral commission lacked the authority to impose an earlier deadline through its guidelines for the 2027 elections.

As a result of the judgement, all registered political parties now have until September 2026 to submit updated membership registers, effectively nullifying the earlier May 10 deadline imposed by INEC.

The decision is also expected to provide more flexibility for politicians who lose party primaries, giving them additional time to switch to other political parties ahead of the elections.

Meanwhile, the presidential and National Assembly elections have been fixed for January 16, 2027, while governorship and state House of Assembly elections are scheduled to take place on February 6, 2027.