Senate Passes Electoral Act Amendment Bill to End Conflicting Court Rulings in Pre-Election Cases

The Senate has passed an amendment to the Electoral Act 2026 seeking to provide definitive jurisdiction for pre-election matters and eliminate conflicting court rulings arising from candidate nomination disputes. The bill, sponsored by Simon Lalong, senator representing Plateau South and chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, scaled second and third readings on Thursday during plenary in Abuja. 

The legislation aims to curb forum shopping, a practice where litigants file cases in multiple courts across different states to obtain favourable rulings on the same internal party disputes. The amendment designates specific courts to handle pre-election matters in a bid to prevent contradictory judgments from courts of coordinate jurisdiction. It also seeks to streamline the resolution of disputes arising from party primaries and ensure that the legal status of candidates is settled before general elections. 

Lawmakers said the amendment would reinforce timelines for the Independent National Electoral Commission to finalise candidate lists and create greater stability for election planning. Leading debate on the bill, Lalong said democracy depends not only on elections but also on the credibility and predictability of the legal framework preceding them.

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The bill proposes amendments to section 29 of the Electoral Act and introduces a new section 29a to clearly define jurisdictional competence in pre-election matters. Lalong explained that the amendment to section 29 would allow aspirants to institute actions either in the federal capital territory or in the jurisdiction where the cause of action arose. He said the proposed section 29a would establish a framework under which pre-election matters relating to national assembly, governorship and state assembly elections would originate at the federal high court, with appeals going to the court of appeal. Disputes relating to presidential and vice presidential elections would originate at the court of appeal, with appeals proceeding directly to the supreme court.