Only 14 out of 171 associations seeking to become political parties have scaled through the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) first round of screening.
Sam Olumekun, INEC’s national commissioner for information and voter education, announced the development after the commission’s weekly meeting in Abuja on Thursday. He revealed that 157 groups failed to meet the basic legal and constitutional requirements.
The 14 successful associations include 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).
Olumekun said the commission evaluated applications against section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), sections 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC’s 2022 regulations and guidelines for political parties.
INEC has published the names of the pre-qualified associations on its website and will notify all applicants of its decision within 24 hours. Leaders of the shortlisted groups have also been invited to a briefing on 17 September at INEC headquarters, Abuja.
The commission will next conduct physical verification of the associations’ claims before making a final ruling on their registration status.
“Party registration is a continuous process under the law, and the commission remains open to considering applications that meet the legal criteria,” Olumekun said.
