Abuja
As Nigeria enters Tuesday, March 3, 2026, major opposition parties are expected to intensify efforts to update and digitise their membership registers, with barely a month left before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s critical compliance deadline.
Under the Electoral Act 2026, all political parties must submit a comprehensive digital membership register to INEC at least 21 days before any primary, congress, or convention. With party primaries scheduled to begin on April 23, the effective deadline for submission falls on April 2. Any party that fails to comply will be automatically barred from fielding candidates, in line with Section 77(7) of the Act.
The pressure has mounted following INEC’s decision to revise the 2027 election timetable to avoid a clash with the Ramadan period. The adjustment has shortened the preparation window for parties, forcing them into a race against time to complete digital registration, verification, and documentation processes.
The digital register must contain each member’s full name, sex, date of birth, residential address, state, local government area, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN), and photograph. Parties are also required to submit both hard and soft copies in a format prescribed by INEC.
Election observers say the compressed timeline is already exposing structural weaknesses within several political parties, particularly those without centralised digital databases.
Samson Itodo, Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, has warned that many parties do not yet possess membership registers that meet the strict digital standards outlined in the Act. He has urged immediate digitisation and verification to avoid disqualification ahead of the primaries.
Among the key political parties:
- The All Progressives Congress (APC) began its membership registration drive in January 2025 and later conducted an electronic registration exercise between December 2025 and January 2026. Party officials say the e-registration was designed to validate members, strengthen internal democracy and align with statutory requirements.
- The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rolled out a nationwide free online registration platform. The party says only members fully captured and verified in its digital database will be eligible to vote or contest in internal elections. However, it has criticised INEC’s revised timetable, arguing that the compliance framework disproportionately advantages the ruling party.
- The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is expected to continue its three-week digital membership exercise on Tuesday, having launched the process on March 2. The exercise, overseen by a committee led by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Hon. Theophilus Daka Shan, is aimed at harmonising data nationwide and resolving disputes.
- The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) says it has commenced updates to its membership register and remains confident it will meet the deadline, despite acknowledging the tight schedule.
Political analysts say larger parties with deeper structures and stronger funding may navigate the digitisation process more easily, while smaller parties could struggle with logistics, data collection, and verification across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
Dr Kabiru Sa’id Sufi, a Kano-based political analyst, noted that the revised timetable caught several parties off guard. He warned that the rescheduling of the presidential election to January 2027 could further complicate coordination, fundraising and campaign planning.
Political economist Pat Utomi has also called for a review of aspects of the Electoral Act 2026, citing concerns about declining voter engagement and public trust in the political process.
With just 30 days until the April 2 submission deadline, the coming weeks are expected to determine which parties are organisationally prepared for the 2027 contest.
For opposition parties in particular, March 3 marks not just another day on the calendar, but a crucial period of mobilisation, data verification and compliance.
Observers warn that failure by any major party to meet INEC’s digital membership requirement could significantly alter the political landscape, affecting candidate selection, alliances and voter confidence ahead of 2027.
As the countdown continues, Nigeria’s political class faces what may be one of the most consequential administrative tests in recent electoral history — a race not only against time, but against regulatory precision and technological readiness.