By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives on Wednesday amended the Electoral Act 2026 to criminalise dual membership of political parties, proposing a fine of N10 million or a maximum two-year jail term for offenders.
The amendment, contained in a bill aimed at strengthening regulations on political party membership, was passed during plenary after lawmakers considered it at the Committee of the Whole.
The proposed legislation introduces three new subsections to Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, which addresses political party membership, making it unlawful for any individual to belong to more than one political party at the same time.
Under the new provision, any person found to be registered in more than one political party simultaneously will have such memberships declared void.
“A person shall not be registered as a member of more than one political party at the same time,” the provision states.
It further provides that where dual membership is established, such memberships will be invalidated and the individual will cease to be recognised as a legitimate member of any political party until the situation is regularised in accordance with the Electoral Act and the constitution of the affected political party.
The amendment also prescribes stiff penalties for violators.
“A person who knowingly registers or maintains membership in more than one political party at the same time commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N10,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of two years, or both,” the bill provides.
During debate, lawmakers argued that belonging to multiple political parties undermines political integrity and complicates party primaries and candidate nominations.
However, Abubakar Fulata (APC–Jigawa) raised constitutional concerns, noting that denying a person membership in two parties could conflict with Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees freedom of association.
He suggested that the law should instead emphasise that citizens may belong to only one political party at a time.
Other lawmakers strongly backed the amendment, describing dual party membership as dishonest and a form of political misrepresentation.
“You cannot put your legs in two different houses at the same time. For the sake of moral justice and honesty, you should belong to one political party at any given time,” a lawmaker said.
Lawmakers also discussed how violations would be detected, noting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) already receives party membership registers ahead of primaries, which could help identify individuals registered in multiple parties.
Some members expressed concern that individuals could be wrongly implicated if their names appear in more than one party register without their consent.
In response, lawmakers clarified that the provision applies only where dual membership is established “knowingly,” meaning deliberate action must be proven.
After deliberations, the Committee of the Whole adopted the clauses of the bill and its long title before the House reverted to plenary to report progress.
If eventually signed into law, the amendment is expected to strengthen the legal framework governing political party affiliation and curb cases of multiple party memberships in Nigeria’s electoral process.
