INEC Shortlists 14 Out Of 171 Associations For Registration Ahead Of 2027

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has shortlisted 14 associations for registration as political parties ahead of the 2027 general polls.

The figure, according to the electoral umpire, is from a total of 171 requests received by the commission.

National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, who gave the update at the end of the Commission's regular meeting in Abuja, said each request were assessed in line with provisions of the Electoral law.

Olumekun added that at the end of the screening and verification exercise, only 14 associations met the requirements while the remaining 157 associations failed.

"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.

According to him, the Commission will officially communicate the decision arising from the meeting to all the associations within the next 24 hours.

Olumekun, however, said the list of the 14 pre-qualified associations has been published on our website and other official platforms for public information.

He added 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 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", Olumekun concluded.

Thursday 11th September 2025