14 Associations scale INEC’s first hurdle towards registration as political parties

• Interim Chairmen, Secretaries to meet commission Sept 17

• Final decision to be taken after physical verification of claims

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has revealed that fourteen out of the one hundred and seventy-one (171) associations that applied to be registered as political parties have met the requirements to proceed to the next stage, while 157 have not.

This was confirmed in a statement on Thursday by the a National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (VEC), Mr Sam Olumekun in Abuja.

The interim Chairmen and Secretaries of the fourteen pre-qualified associations, according to Olumekun, have, subsequently, been invited to a briefing on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at 11am at the INEC’s Headquarters in Abuja.

Each request, according to INEC, was assessed on the basis of its prima facie compliance with the provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Section 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Clause 2 (i and ii) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022.

The final determination of the registrability of the associations as political parties, according to INEC, will be made after the physical verification of all their claims to determine compliance with the legal framework.

According to the INEC’s statement, “The Commission held its regular meeting today (yesterday), Thursday 11th September 2025. In addition to reviewing our preparations for forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the end-of-tenure Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the meeting also considered the report of its Committee on the Review of Letters of Intent from associations seeking registration as political parties.

“A total of 171 requests for registration were received.

“Each request was assessed on the basis of its prima facie compliance with the provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Section 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Clause 2 (i and ii) of the Commission’s 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 (yesterday’s) meeting to all the associations in the next 24 hours.

“Meanwhile, the list of the 14 pre-qualified associations has been published on our website and other official platforms for public information”, it stressed.

Also in another statement, the commission explained that the interim Chairmen and Secretaries of the pre-qualified associations “are invited to a briefing on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at 11am at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja.

“In addition to uploading the required information to the portal, the commission will physically verify all claims by each association in line with our Regulations and Guidelines.

“The final determination of the registrability of the associations as political parties will be made after the physical verification of all their claims to determine compliance with the legal framework.

“We wish to reiterate that party registration is a continuous process under the law.

‘The Commission remains open to the consideration of applications that meet the criteria as provided by law” the statement my Olumekun said.

END