110 associations seek INEC registration as political parties

No fewer than 110 associations are seeking to be registered as political parties ahead of the 2027 general election in Nigeria.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this during the commission’s quarterly media executive meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

Yakubu said INEC would treat all requests fairly, irrespective of the status of their promoters.

The INEC chairman said as of Monday, the commission has received letters of intent from 110 associations that wish to register as political parties.

Yakubu stated: “We are diligently processing the requests in line with the procedure outlined in the law as well as our regulations and guidelines.

“We have acknowledged all requests received so far, except six received recently, which will be done before the end of the week.

“For emphasis, I wish to inform Nigerians, particularly those interested in registering new political parties, that the handbook containing the regulations and guidelines for political parties 2022 is already available on the commission’s website.”

The INEC chairman, however, denied insinuations in some quarters that the commission was compromising its independence on the status of the association seeking registration.

Yakubu recalled that a similar unfounded accusation was made in 2013 that INEC was not keen on the proposed merger of political parties because the electoral umpire had “merged with the ruling party” at the time.

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Yakubu added: “For the record, the present commission registered the largest number of political parties in Nigeria and strictly followed the provision of the electoral legal framework.

“In the 2019 general election, there were 91 political parties and 73 presidential candidates. The commission was criticised in some quarters for registering too many political parties.

“After the election, the commission also de-registered over 70 political parties as provided by law. We wish to reassure Nigerians that under the current situation, we will continue to be guided by law and act with fairness to all associations seeking registration as political parties.

“We will treat all requests fairly irrespective of the status of their promoters, be they ordinary or prominent citizens. Nigerians will be fully briefed of the actions taken by the commission every step of the way.”

Yakubu disclosed that INEC will today (Wednesday) release the full list of the 110 associations seeking registration, their proposed names, acronyms, addresses, and names of their protem chairmen and secretaries.

The Star