THE Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has lamented that unending leadership tussles and protracted intra-party disputes are distracting its attention from core election planning and contributing to voter apathy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan (SAN), who raised the concern at the opening of a three-day Technical Review Workshop in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, to comprehensively review its Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, in line with the Electoral Act 2026, warned: “The quality of internal party democracy has a direct bearing on the election conducted by INEC.
“Each day spent defending avoidable intra-party disputes is a day diverted from our primary mandate of election planning.
“While the Commission remains neutral, it will enforce compliance firmly and consistently.”
Speaking at the workshop, aimed at strengthening the electoral framework and ensuring compliance with the new law as preparations intensify for 2027, Amupitan said the revised regulations would introduce stricter benchmarks for financial transparency, membership documentation and inclusion of women, youths and Persons With Disabilities (PWD).
He stated: “We are not just editing a document. We are aligning our Regulations and Guidelines with the 2026 Act to ensure that our electoral architecture is not only robust in theory but strong in practice.
“The sovereign will of the Nigerian people must remain sacrosanct from the point of candidate nomination to the final declaration of results.”
National Commissioner and Chairman of the Election and Party Monitoring Committee, Baba Bila, described the review as a strategic necessity, as existing guidelines require substantive amendments to give effect to the new Electoral Act.
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