EU-SDGN Report Recommends Review of Nomination Fees, Independent Party Appeal Panels in Subsequent Elections

EU-SDGN Report Recommends Review of Nomination Fees, Independent Party Appeal Panels in Subsequent Elections

By Raphael Ekpang

Abuja (Core Reporters)-European Union-funded EU Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria II (EU-SDGN II) has called on political parties in Nigeria to review their nomination fees and establish independent internal appeal panels to make candidate selection more accessible, transparent and credible in subsequent elections, Core Reporters report.

The recommendations are contained in a new report released under the European Union-funded EU Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria II (EU-SDGN II) programme, which assessed the 2026 party primaries and candidate nomination process following electoral reforms.

Titled Before the Ballot, the report presented by Ralph-Micheal Peters and Florence Ganoux examined the 2026 party primaries and the candidate lists published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on September 12.

The report identified the cost of nomination as a major issue in the political recruitment process, noting that presidential nomination forms cost as much as ₦100 million, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) fixed its nomination fees at ₦20 million for Senate and ₦10 million for House of Representatives candidates.

According to the report, the high cost of nomination forms could increase aspirants’ reliance on sponsors and create barriers to participation in the political process.

It therefore recommended that political parties review nomination fees for the 2027–2031 electoral cycle.

The report also called for the establishment of independent internal appeal panels within political parties to provide credible mechanisms for resolving disputes arising from screening, primaries, consensus arrangements, substitutions and other nomination decisions.

It said such mechanisms should strengthen internal party democracy and provide aspirants and members with meaningful avenues to challenge disputed decisions before resorting to litigation.

While presenting the report on Tuesday in Abuja Peters said although the 2026 electoral reforms introduced direct primaries, giving party members a formal vote in candidate selection, decisions concerning nomination forms, screening, consensus arrangements, internal appeals and the submission of candidates to INEC remained largely in the hands of party leaderships in the cases examined.

The report further observed that party rules, membership registers, result forms and INEC monitoring findings were generally not available to aspirants, members and observers, limiting their ability to verify compliance or pursue challenges within the 14-day period provided by law.

For the 2027–2031 period, the report recommended that political parties publish their rules and primary election results, while creating enforceable measures to improve the inclusion of women, young people and persons with disabilities.

It also proposed a joint review of nomination and litigation timelines by the National Assembly, INEC and the judiciary to ensure that disputes over candidate selection are resolved early enough to allow decisions to be implemented before elections.

The report said that, in the immediate period before the 2027 polls, party leaderships should provide affected aspirants with reasons and records relating to disputed selections and replacements.

It equally urged INEC to publish relevant findings from its monitoring of party primaries and explain changes made to candidate lists.

The report said the recommendations were intended to support political parties, INEC, the judiciary and other stakeholders as preparations for the 2027 elections continue.