INEC to unveil portal for groups seeking registration as political parties

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will introduce a portal where associations seeking to be political parties can register.

In a statement on Thursday, Sam Olumekun, INEC’s national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee, said the commission has received further updates on additional requests from associations seeking registration as political parties.

Olumekun said seven more applications have been received since last week, bringing the total to 129, adding that all the requests are being processed.

“Unlike the manual method used in previous registration, the Commission is introducing a political party registration portal, which is a module in our Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System (PFRAS),” the statement reads.

“This will make the process faster and seamless. In the next one week, the Commission will conclude the final testing of the portal before deployment.

“Thereafter, the next step for associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage will be announced. The Commission will also issue guidelines to facilitate the filing of applications using the PFRAS.

“Meanwhile, the list of the new associations has been uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information.”