ADC says new 2027 timetable makes fielding candidates difficult

By Seyi Babalola

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s revised election timetable, warning that the new timetable and legal requirements will make it “almost impossible” for opposition parties to field candidates in the 2027 general elections.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s National Publicity Secretary made this known in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He stated that the party’s position originates from its broader opposition to the Electoral Act 2026, which he claims has measures that create considerable compliance difficulties for smaller parties.

“The rejection of the timetable is only consequential to our rejection of the Electoral Act 2026. It is very clear when INEC released its timetable that some of the requirements we will need to meet to field candidates for the 2027 elections, as contained in the Act, are almost impossible for us to meet,” he said on Friday’s edition of the show.

Abdullahi explained that the law requires parties to submit a fully digitalised membership register across all 36 states within a short timeframe when notifying INEC of congresses or conventions.

“What the law expects us to do is that within the next 32 days or so, we will have a digitalised membership register in all the 36 states of the federation that we will be able to submit to INEC while giving them notice of our congresses or conventions. It is almost practically impossible for us to do this,” he said.