Out of 171 groups that submitted letters of intent to register as political parties, only 14 have successfully fulfilled the necessary criteria to advance to the subsequent phase, while the remaining 157 did not meet the standards.
This update was provided by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Chairman of its Information & Voter Education Committee, in a statement released in Abuja on Thursday.
The 14 associations that have been pre-qualified, as listed on the INEC website and other official channels, include the African Transformation Party (ATP), All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Advance Nigeria Congress (ANC), Abundance Social Party (ASP), and African Alliance Party (AAP).
Additional parties on the list are Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP), Green Future Party (GFP), Liberation People’s Party (LPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), National Reform Party (NRP), Patriotic Peoples Alliance (PPA), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
Olumekun further announced that the interim chairpersons and secretaries of these pre-qualified groups have been summoned for a briefing scheduled at INEC’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday next week at 11 a.m.
Each application was meticulously evaluated based on its initial compliance with Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Sections 79 (1, 2, and 4) of the 2022 Electoral Act, and Clause 2 (i and ii) of INEC’s 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
He emphasized that the ultimate decision regarding the official registration of these associations as political parties will follow a thorough on-site verification process to confirm the authenticity of their claims and adherence to the legal requirements.
“We received a total of 171 applications for party registration. Each was scrutinized for prima facie compliance with the constitutional and electoral provisions, as well as the Commission’s regulations,” Olumekun explained.
“Out of these, 14 associations have qualified to move forward, while 157 did not meet the criteria. The Commission will formally notify all applicants of the outcomes within 24 hours following today’s meeting.”
“For transparency, the list of the 14 pre-qualified associations has been made publicly available on our official website and other platforms,” he added.
“The interim leaders of these groups are invited to attend a briefing session on Wednesday, 17th September 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Commission’s Abuja headquarters.”
“Beyond the digital submission of required documents, we will conduct physical inspections to verify all claims in accordance with our established guidelines,” Olumekun concluded.
