The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that just 14 of the 171 associations seeking registration as political parties have satisfied the initial requirements to move forward in the process.
This was disclosed on Thursday in Abuja by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, in a statement released after the commission’s regular meeting.
Olumekun revealed that 157 associations failed to meet the constitutional and legal criteria for registration.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the 14 groups that scaled through include: 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 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 explained that the applications were reviewed based on their compliance with Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act 2022, and Clause 2 (i and ii) of INEC’s 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
“Out of the total applications received, 14 associations have met the requirements to proceed to the next stage while 157 have not,” he stated.
He added that INEC will communicate its decision to all the associations within 24 hours and has already published the list of pre-qualified groups on its website and official platforms.
The interim chairmen and secretaries of the shortlisted associations are invited to a briefing at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, September 17, at 11 a.m.
Olumekun also noted that INEC will carry out physical verification of the associations’ claims before making a final decision on their registration status.
“The final determination of their eligibility as political parties will be made after physical verification to confirm compliance with the legal framework,” he said.
He stressed that political party registration remains a continuous process and that the commission will continue to consider fresh applications that meet the stipulated legal criteria.
Olumekun further disclosed that the meeting also reviewed INEC’s preparedness for upcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the end-of-tenure Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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