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From mercy Peter
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 14 associations have successfully scaled the first hurdle in the process of registering as political parties in Nigeria, while 157 others failed to meet the initial requirements.
In a statement issued on Thursday after its regular meeting, the Commission revealed that it received a total of 171 applications from groups seeking registration as political parties.
The commission pointed out that each request was carefully scrutinized against the provisions of Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 79 of the Electoral Act 2022, and Clause 2 of INEC’s 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
According to the statement signed by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, only 14 associations were found to have met the preliminary conditions to move forward in the process.
“The Commission shall officially communicate the decision arising from today’s meeting to all the associations in the next 24 hours,” the statement read. INEC has also published the list of the 14 pre-qualified associations on its official website and platforms for public information.
The interim chairmen and secretaries of the pre-qualified associations have been invited to a briefing scheduled for Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at 11 a.m. at INEC Headquarters in Abuja.
At the briefing, the Commission will outline the next steps, which include a thorough physical verification of each association’s claims in line with legal and regulatory provisions.
INEC stressed that the final decision on whether the associations would be formally registered as political parties will depend on their compliance during the verification exercise.
Reiterating its openness to the formation of new political parties, the Commission emphasized that “party registration is a continuous process under the law,” and pledged to consider any future applications that meet the legal requirements.
The meeting also reviewed INEC’s preparations for upcoming off-cycle governorship elections as well as the end-of-tenure Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
With this announcement, Nigeria’s political space may soon witness the emergence of new parties, subject to the outcome of the Commission’s verification process.
