INEC deregisters 74 political parties, gives reason

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has deregistered 74 political parties out of the existing 92 registered ones.

This leaves the country with only 18 registered parties.

The deregistration was announced on Thursday by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a press conference in Abuja.

The reasons for the deregistration, Yakubu said, bordered on the failure of the affected parties to meet the requirements of the Fourth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution.

According to him, with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), INEC had the power to register and regulate activities of political parties.

He explained that in addition to the extant provision for the registration of political parties, the Fourth Alteration to the Constitution (Section 225A) empowered INEC to deregister political parties.

The INEC boss said following the need to implement the provision of the fourth alteration to the constitution, the commission assessed the level of compliance of the parties with requirements for registration, and found some wanting.

He added: “Similarly, following the conclusion of the 2019 general election, including court-ordered re-run elections arising from litigations, the commission was able to determine the performance of political parties in the elections.

“In addition, they were also assessed on the basis of their performance in the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which coincided with the 2019 general election.

“It should be noted that the FCT is the only part of the country where INEC is empowered by the constitution to conduct Local Government elections.’’

Yakubu explained, however, that until the court decides a suit filed by the Action Peoples Party, APP, against its possible deregistration, it would remain.

He said Boot Party (BP), which was registered after the 2019 general election on the order of the court, would also remain.

Said he: “However, one of the political parties, the Action Peoples Party (APP) filed a suit in court and obtained an order restraining the commission from deregistering it. Consequently, the party remains registered pending the determination of the case by the court.

“The new political party, Boot Party (BP) registered by court order after the 2019 general election will also continue to exist.

“Accordingly, 74 political parties are hereby deregistered. With this development, Nigeria now has 18 registered political parties.”

16 surviving registered political parties: