INEC shortlists 14 political associations for registration, disqualifies 157
INEC shortlists 14 political associations for registration, disqualifies 157
By Idun Maximus
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the shortlisting of 14 associations for consideration for registration as political parties, disqualifying over 157 other applicants.
INEC rose from several hours management meeting on Thursday in Abuja, revealing that it has given approval to the association after considering the report of its Committee on the Review of Letters of Intent from them seeking registration as political parties.
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, in a statement invited the interim Chairmen and Secretaries of the pre-qualified associations to a briefing on Wednesday, next week.
The associations considered are; 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) and Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP).
Others considered are; Green Future Party (GFP), Liberation Peoples Party (LPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), National Reform Party (NRP), Patriotic Peoples Alliance (PPA), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
According to Olumekun; “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 the 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.
“The interim Chairmen and Secretaries of the pre-qualified associations are invited to a briefing on Wednesday next week at the commission’s Headquarters in Abuja.
“In addition to uploading the required information to the portal, we will physically verify all claims by each association in line with our Regulations and Guidelines. The final determination of the registerability 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 electoral umpire noted.
