The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that only 14 out of 171 associations seeking recognition as political parties have scaled the initial hurdle of meeting constitutional and legal requirements.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Sam Olumekun, disclosed this in a statement issued after the commission’s regular meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
Olumekun said that while 14 associations met the preliminary conditions, 157 others failed to satisfy the provisions of the law.
He listed the successful associations as 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).
According to him, the applications were screened in line with Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 79 of the Electoral Act 2022, and the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022.
“Out of the total number of applications received, 14 associations have met the requirements to proceed to the next stage, while 157 have not.
“The Commission shall officially communicate the decision arising from today’s meeting to all the associations in the next 24 hours,” Olumekun stated.
He added that the interim chairmen and secretaries of the pre-qualified groups have been invited to a briefing at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, September 17.
Olumekun further explained that the commission would physically verify all claims made by the associations before making a final determination on their registration status.
“The final decision on whether the associations qualify as political parties will only be made after physical verification of their claims. Party registration is a continuous process under the law, and the Commission remains open to further applications that meet the criteria,” he said.
Meanwhile, INEC also reviewed its preparations for upcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the end-of-tenure Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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