The National Chairman of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dan Nwanyanwu, has pushed back against a key provision in the 2026 Electoral Act that requires political parties to adopt either direct primaries or consensus when picking candidates.
He made his position known on Tuesday in Abuja after a consultative session organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with party leaders to review its guidelines and regulations.
Nwanyanwu said the meeting was largely useful, noting that most of the issues discussed were already familiar to political parties. However, he singled out the compulsory primaries provision as a major point of concern.
“What INEC discussed were mostly standard procedures, more like a refresher on how parties should conduct their primaries within the law. Overall, it was a productive engagement,” he said.
Despite that, he criticised Section 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, arguing that political parties should have full control over how they select their candidates.
According to him, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) is also opposed to the amendment, insisting that candidate selection is strictly an internal party matter and should not be dictated by the National Assembly.
“Parties already have established constitutions and guidelines that cover these processes. Imposing a uniform method undermines that independence. If the system isn’t broken, there’s no need to force changes,” he said.
He revealed that some parties have already taken legal steps to challenge the provision, expressing confidence that it may eventually be overturned.
Also speaking, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Sadiq Umar Abubakar, commended INEC for creating an open platform for dialogue, describing the meeting as engaging and inclusive.
“We appreciate the opportunity to discuss these issues. It allowed parties to clearly state their positions,” he said.
Abubakar added that some concerns raised during the meeting – particularly around deadlines for submitting membership registers – were addressed.
He explained that although INEC initially proposed a fixed deadline in April, it later clarified that submissions would instead follow the provisions of the Electoral Act, requiring parties to submit their registers at least 21 days before their primaries.
“That adjustment makes the process more workable since timelines will now align with each party’s schedule,” he said.
The issue has sparked wider debate, with stakeholders warning that certain provisions in the new law could affect internal party democracy and complicate preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
