The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced that only 14 out of the 171 associations seeking to be registered as political parties have scaled through the initial screening process.
This was disclosed in Abuja by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Sam Olumekun, after the Commission’s regular meeting on Thursday.
According to him, the 14 associations that met the requirements 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), and Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA).
Others are the 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).
Mr. Olumekun explained that the assessment was based on the provisions of Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, relevant sections of the Electoral Act 2022, as well as INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
He said the 14 pre-qualified associations have been invited to a briefing at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on September 17, while their claims will be subjected to physical verification before a final decision is taken on their registration.
INEC, he stressed, will communicate its decisions to all the 171 associations within 24 hours, noting that the list of pre-qualified groups has already been published on the Commission’s official website and platforms.
The Commissioner further noted that political party registration is an ongoing process under the law, assuring that INEC will remain open to fresh applications that meet the stipulated criteria.
Meanwhile, the Commission also reviewed its preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections as well as the end-of-tenure Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.