The Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed that 14 political associations passed the first stage in their request to be registered as political parties, while 157 others were disqualified for failing to meet the required conditions.
The decision was taken during the commission’s meeting on Thursday, where it also assessed its plans for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship polls and the Federal Capital Territory council elections.
According to INEC, a total of 171 applications were submitted by associations seeking registration.
Each application was reviewed against constitutional provisions, the Electoral Act 2022, and the commission’s own guidelines.
Only 14 were cleared to move to the next stage, while the rest fell short of the basic requirements.
The approved groups include the African Transformation Party, All Democratic Alliance, Advance Nigeria Congress, Abundance Social Party, African Alliance Party, Citizens Democratic Alliance, Democratic Leadership Alliance, Grassroots Initiative Party, Green Future Party, Liberation People’s Party, National Democratic Party, National Reform Party, Patriotic Peoples Alliance, and the Peoples Freedom Party.
INEC has invited the interim leaders of these groups to a briefing at its headquarters in Abuja on September 17, 2025.
However, the commission stressed that this approval is only provisional, as the associations will still undergo physical verification before a final decision on their registration is made.
The electoral body reminded stakeholders that party registration is continuous but subject to strict rules such as maintaining a national headquarters in Abuja, proving nationwide membership, adopting unique names and logos, and submitting a constitution and manifesto that uphold democratic principles.
INEC also recalled that it has a history of deregistering parties that fail to meet these standards.
In 2020, it struck out 74 parties for poor performance in the 2019 elections.
By the 2023 general elections, Nigeria had 18 registered political parties.
None of these registered parties have the power and capacity to win Tinubu.