The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has registered two new political parties, raising the total number of registered parties in Nigeria to 21.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, announced this on Wednesday during the commission’s quarterly consultative meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja.
According to him, the newly registered parties are the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
He explained that DLA emerged as the only association that fully met the constitutional and legal requirements out of 171 groups that applied for registration, while NDC was registered in compliance with a court order.
Amupitan said INEC received 171 letters of intent from associations seeking registration and assessed them in line with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
“After due consideration, only the Democratic Leadership Alliance was found to have complied fully with the requirements of the law and was registered with effect from February 5,” he said.
He added that the Federal High Court in Lokoja ordered INEC to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, prompting the Commission’s compliance. “Certificates of registration will be issued to the two parties in due course,” Amupitan noted.
The INEC chairman, however, expressed concern over rising internal crises and leadership disputes within political parties, warning that frequent litigations were undermining public trust and distracting the Commission from its core mandate.
“These internal squabbles create uncertainty, erode confidence in the political system and place unnecessary pressure on our judicial system,” he said.
Amupitan urged party leaders to embrace dialogue, unity and transparent leadership, stressing that strong internal cohesion remains essential to safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic process.
