The National Assembly has removed indirect primaries from the Electoral Act 2026, retaining only direct and consensus primaries as the approved methods for political parties to nominate candidates.
Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday through his media office while outlining major reforms introduced in the new legislation.
Bamidele stated that Section 84(1-2) of the Electoral Act, 2026 now recognises only direct and consensus primaries. He explained that the decision to phase out indirect primaries is intended to expand participation among party members and curb the influence of money in the nomination process.
According to him, the revised legal framework also contains measures designed to reinforce internal democracy within political parties.
Citing Section 77(1-7) of the Act, Bamidele said political parties are now required to maintain a digital register of their members, issue membership cards and submit the register to the Independent National Electoral Commission at least 21 days before conducting primaries, congresses or conventions.
His words: “A political party shall not use any other register for party primaries, congresses and conventions than the register submitted to the INEC.
“Besides, any political party that fails to submit the membership register within the stipulated time shall not be eligible to field a candidate for that election. These are indeed consequential restraint measures that will deepen internal democracy and reduce the monetisation of politics in the country.”
The senator representing Ekiti added that the new electoral framework followed two years of consultations involving the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Civil Society Organisations and development partners.
He noted that the Electoral Act, 2026 is aimed at promoting transparency, strengthening institutional independence and improving accountability in Nigeria’s election management system.
