Ahead of the 2027 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved 14 new political parties and turned down requests from 157 groups seeking the commission’s nod to field candidates for the next poll across the country.
The political parties were among the 171 applications received by the electoral umpire from different groups seeking to metamorphose into a recognised political platform before the 2027 poll.
The political parties approved by INEC include: The African Transformation Party (ATP), All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Advance Nigeria Congress (ANC), Abundance Social Party ( ASP), African Alliance Party (AAP), and Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA).
Others were: the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DEA), 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 the Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, who disclosed this through a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday, stressed that the parties were picked after meeting the requirements for the pre-qualified stage.
Olumekun added that the final stage is for physical verification of all their claims to determine compliance with the legal framework.
According to the statement, “The Commission held its regular meeting today, Thursday, 11th September 2025. In addition to reviewing our preparations for forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the end-of-tenure Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the meeting also considered the report of its Committee on the Review of Letters of Intent from associations seeking registration as political parties.
“A total of 171 requests for registration were received. Each request was assessed based on 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 today’s 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, 17th September 2025 at 11 am at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja.
“In addition to uploading the required information to the portal, they 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”.
