INEC recognizes two parties, raises alarm over party crises, deregistration

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised two new political parties and warned that persistent internal crises and leadership disputes within parties could trigger deregistration under the law.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, gave the warning on Thursday in Abuja during the commission’s first-quarter 2026 stakeholders’ consultation with political parties, organised in collaboration with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).

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Amupitan, who described the meeting as his first formal engagement with political parties since assuming office, said the dialogue was aimed at strengthening cooperation ahead of a packed electoral calendar, including the 2026 off-cycle polls and the 2027 General Election.

He expressed concern over the rising wave of litigations arising from party infighting, noting that such disputes often drag the commission into avoidable legal battles and distract it from its core mandate of conducting free, fair and credible elections.

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“Sometimes you wonder whether you should just deregister some political parties,” the INEC chairman said, warning that recurring leadership crises and internal wrangling threaten the spirit and provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution on the registration and operation of political parties.

According to him, the situation not only wastes public resources but also creates uncertainty among party members and erodes public confidence in the democratic process.

While stressing that INEC remains neutral, Amupitan urged party leaders to prioritise dialogue, transparency and internal democracy, warning that continued instability could have serious consequences for the nation’s democracy.

In a significant development, the commission announced the registration of two new political parties. The Democratic Leadership Alliance was approved after meeting all constitutional and legal requirements, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress was registered in compliance with a Federal High Court order.

On preparations for forthcoming elections, the INEC boss said arrangements had reached an advanced stage for the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026. He disclosed that 10 out of the 13 activities in the election timetable had been completed, adding that campaigns would end on February 19.

He said non-sensitive materials had been deployed, electoral officers trained and BVAS devices configured for voter accreditation and real-time upload of results to the IReV portal, while a mock accreditation exercise would be conducted on February 7 in 289 polling units across the FCT.

INEC also confirmed the accreditation of 83 domestic and five foreign observer groups, as well as several media organisations, to monitor the polls.

Beyond the FCT elections, the commission announced that bye-elections would be held the same day in Rivers and Kano states, while preparations were also underway for the Ekiti governorship election on June 20, 2026, and the Osun governorship poll on August 8, 2026.

Looking ahead to the 2027 General Election, Amupitan said the commission had finalised the timetable and schedule of activities in line with the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022, and called on the National Assembly to expedite amendments to the electoral legal framework to ensure stability ahead of the polls.

He also raised concerns over declining voter turnout, which dropped from 53.7 per cent in 2011 to 26.7 per cent in 2023, and announced plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise, alongside the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration, which he said had already added over 2.7 million new voters.

Speaking on behalf of political parties, the National Chairman of IPAC, Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, urged INEC to remain independent, firm and fair, while calling on parties to strengthen internal democracy and make use of IPAC’s dispute resolution mechanisms instead of rushing to court.

IPAC also called for reforms, including mandatory real-time transmission of results, harmonisation of the electoral legal framework and the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions in favour of INEC conducting all elections nationwide.

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