The Independent National Electoral Commission has informed a coalition of political groups seeking to register new parties ahead of the 2027 general elections that it will not be pressured into overlooking strict compliance with constitutional requirements.
INEC recently questioned the coalition’s compliance with vital legal and procedural requirements, and Nigerians have been reacting.
Speaking via a press statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, revealed that those accusing the commission of intentionally frustrating the party registration process for its own selfish gain couldn’t be more wrong.
He stated that Nigerian politicians must realize that party registration is not merely a political declaration, but a constitutional process governed by stern guidelines.
According to him, the commission is fully focused on the quality of applications, not the quantity, and only applicants who fully meet the established criteria will be successfully registered.
Insisting that INEC will not be blackmailed into unlawful registrations, Rotimi urged political figures who are trying to register their political parties to follow due process.
“Rather than trying to blackmail INEC with unfounded accusations, groups that applied for registration as political parties should submit authentic, verifiable documents and comply with all the requirements for registration.
The number of applications that the commission receives is not as important as the number of applicants that can successfully satisfy the criteria for registration.
It is thus more appropriate to talk about successful applications than the number of applications, since in any case, some applicants or associations may even withdraw their applications along the line.
Applicants also receive constant communication from the commission about the status of their applications in line with the stipulated timeline,” he said.
He further noted that the guidelines for political party registration are clearly outlined in the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
Rotimi concluded by saying that INEC knows nothing about the alleged registration of two new political parties – the “Independent Democrats” and the “Peoples Democratic Movement.”
“The conditions for applying for registration as a political party are contained in our Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022.
Among other things, an association seeking registration shall submit its letter of intent along with its proposed name, symbol and acronym not later than 12 months before a general election.
If approved, the association shall make payment of an administrative fee as determined by the commission.
Upon receipt of the evidence of payment, an access code shall be issued to the chairman or secretary of the association for the download and submission of some forms and documents within 30 days.
Some of the documents to be submitted to the commission include: constitution of the proposed political party; proposed manifesto of the political party; title deed, tenancy agreement or other evidence of lawful occupation of its headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory; register of members of the association, which includes their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and an affidavit by the national chairman or national secretary of the association, confirming the authenticity of the information and contents of the documents.
Upon receipt of the online application and the accompanying documents, the commission proceeds to evaluate the application and documents to ensure that they meet the legal and administrative requirements for further processing.
Now, where at any stage of the registration process, it is discovered that the same set of persons submitted more than one application, or that any aspect of the submission is false, such an application shall be invalidated.
It is important to state that in verifying the claims of an association, the commission shall ascertain whether: the National Executive of an association reflects the Federal Character principle which requires that members of the National Executive Committee must come from at least 24 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory; the constitution and manifesto of the association comply with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the Electoral Act 2022 and the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022; the name, acronym, motto or symbol do not offend the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended): the proof of identity of each member of the national officers of the association, indigene certificate confirming that members of the national executive committee are indigenes of the States indicated against their names in Form EC15A(1) comply with the requirements,” he added.
