2027 Polls: Reps Task INEC on Strict Enforcement of Membership Register Disqualification

In a decisive move aimed at fortifying the integrity of Nigeria's electoral architecture, the House of Representatives has formally tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a comprehensive audit of political party registers. Legislators are demanding the immediate disqualification of any candidate for the 2027 general elections whose name fails to appear on the certified membership list submitted to the electoral umpire.

This legislative directive is rooted in the recurring controversy surrounding internal party democracy and the legal necessity of candidates belonging to the platforms under which they contest. By mandating INEC to enforce these provisions, the Green Chamber seeks to eliminate the phenomenon of 'political surrogacy,' where individuals purportedly bypass party constitutional requirements to secure tickets through external influence or questionable alignments.

The motion, which gained significant traction during the plenary, cites established Supreme Court precedents that reinforce the sanctity of internal party processes. According to proponents of the motion, the lack of transparency in how political parties manage their membership databases serves as a gateway for electoral fraud, necessitating a technocratic intervention by INEC to verify the legitimacy of every candidate vying for public office.