… Declares readiness to conduct by-elections, CVR

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has released the list of 110 political associations seeking registration as political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Commission’s Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, made the disclosure in his remarks at the second regular consultative meeting with Media Executives held at the national headquarters of the electoral umpire in Abuja on Wednesday.

He equally revealed that arrangements have been concluded to conduct the outstanding bye-elections and resume the conduct of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

The electoral umpire boss lamented the partisan insinuations in some quarters that it is equivocating on the matter in a manner that compromises its independence, stressing that nothing can be further from the truth.

Yakubu said: “Clearly, one of the topical issues on election administration in our country today is the status of the letters of intent we received from associations seeking registration as political parties amidst partisan insinuations in some quarters that the commission is equivocating on the matter in a manner that compromises our independence. Nothing can be further from the truth.

“Nigerians may recall that the same unfounded accusation was made under similar circumstances in 2013 that the commission was not keen on the proposed merger of political parties because INEC had “merged with the ruling party” at the time.

“For the record, the present Commission registered the largest number of political parties in Nigeria strictly following the provision of the electoral legal framework. For the 2019 General Election, there were 91 political parties and 73 presidential candidates. The Commission was criticised in some quarters for registering too many political parties. After the election, the commission also deregistered over 70 political parties as provided by law.

“We wish to reassure Nigerians that under the current situation, we will continue to be guided by law and act with fairness to all associations seeking registration as political parties. We will treat all requests fairly irrespective of the status of their promoters, be they ordinary or prominent citizens.

“Nigerians will be fully briefed of the actions taken by the commission every step of the way. As at Monday, 23rd June 2025, the commission has received letters of intent from 110 associations that wish to register as political parties.

“We are diligently processing the requests in line with the procedure outlined in the law as well as our Regulations and Guidelines. We have acknowledged all requests received so far except six of them received recently which will be done before the end of the week.

“For emphasis, I wish to inform Nigerians, particularly those interested in registering new political parties, that the handbook containing the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022 is already available on the commission’s website.

“The commission has released the full list of the 110 associations seeking registration as political parties indicating their proposed names, acronyms, addresses and the names of their protem Chairmen and Secretaries. For transparency and public information, the list has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms,” Yakubu explained.

On the bye-elections and resumption of CVR, the INEC boss said: “I cannot conclude my remarks without briefing you on the conduct of outstanding bye-elections and the resumption of the CVR. I am glad to announce that the commission is now in a position to conduct the bye-elections and to resume the nationwide CVR. The commission met on Tuesday this week and we are finalising the details of the two activities which will be made public in the next 24 hours. As usual we look forward to your support,” he appealed.