INEC Screens 171 Applications for Party Registration, Clears 14 to Next Stage
By Onwe Wisdom Pan Afric Reporters Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 14 associations seeking registration as political parties have met the necessary requirements to proceed to the next stage of the registration process, out of a total of 171 applications received.
The commission in a statement issued and e-signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun mni after its regular meeting on Thursday, September 11, 2025, explained that each request was carefully assessed in line with the provisions of Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 79 of the Electoral Act 2022, and Clause 2 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022.
While 14 associations were pre-qualified, 157 others did not meet the stipulated criteria. INEC said it will officially communicate the outcome of the screening exercise to all the associations within the next 24 hours.
In furtherance of registration process,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, 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.
The commission however, reiterates that party registration is a continuous process under the law, says it remains open to the consideration of applications that meet the criteria as provided by law.
The Commission also confirmed that the list of the 14 pre-qualified associations has been published on its website and official platforms for public information.
Besides considering new party registration, INEC’s meeting reviewed preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the end-of-tenure Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
