Mahmood Yakubu, outgoing INEC chairman
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says only 14 out of 171 associations seeking registration as political parties met the requirements to proceed to the next stage.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Sam Olumekun, the INEC national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee, said 157 associations failed to meet the necessary criteria.
Olumekun spoke after the commission’s regular weekly meeting.
He listed the 14 associations that qualified, including the African Transformation Party (ATP), All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Advance Nigeria Congress (ANC), Abundance Social Party (ASP), African Alliance Party (AAP), Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP), Green Future Party (GFP), Liberation People’s Party (LPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), National Reform Party (NRP), Patriotic Peoples Alliance (PPA), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
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Olumekun said the commission assessed each application based on compliance with section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), sections 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act 2022, and clause 2 (i and ii) of the INEC regulations and guidelines for political parties 2022.
He said the commission would communicate its decision to all associations within 24 hours, while it has published the list of those pre-qualified on its website.
He invited the interim chairmen and secretaries of the 14 associations to a briefing scheduled for September 17 at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
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The commission will conduct physical verification of all claims made by the associations to ensure compliance with legal requirements before making a final determination on their registrability.
“Party registration is a continuous process under the law, and the commission remains open to considering applications that meet the legal criteria,” Olumekun added.
