The House of Representatives of Nigeria on Wednesday amended the Electoral Act 2026 to criminalise dual membership of political parties, prescribing a fine of N10 million or a maximum of two years’ imprisonment for offenders.
The amendment, contained in a bill aimed at strengthening provisions on political party membership, was passed during plenary after lawmakers considered it at the Committee of the Whole.
The 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 it is established that a person holds dual membership, such memberships will be invalidated and the individual will cease to be recognised as a valid 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 to imprisonment for a term of two years, or both,” the bill states.
During debate on the amendment, lawmakers argued that belonging to multiple political parties undermines political integrity and creates complications during party primaries and candidate nominations.
However, Abubakar Fulata (APC–Jigawa) raised constitutional concerns, noting that denying a person membership of two parties could conflict with Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantees freedom of association.
He suggested that the law should instead limit citizens to membership in only one political party at a time.
