The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that only 14 out of 171 associations seeking registration as political parties have met the requirements to advance to the next stage.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Sam Olumekun, the INEC national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee, disclosed that 157 associations failed to meet the necessary criteria.
Olumekun gave the update after the commission’s regular weekly meeting.
He listed the 14 associations that qualified: 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).Debt management consulting
Olumekun explained that the commission assessed each application in line 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 added that INEC would notify all associations of its decision within 24 hours, noting that the list of pre-qualified associations had already been published on the commission’s website.
The interim chairmen and secretaries of the 14 cleared associations have been invited to a briefing at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on September 17.
The commission also plans to conduct physical verification of all claims made by the associations to confirm compliance with legal requirements before making a final decision 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 said.
