INEC REGISTERS TWO NEW POLITICAL PARTIES AMID RISING INTERNAL CRISES, VOTER APATHY CONCERNS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expanded Nigeria’s political landscape with the registration of two new political parties – the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) – bringing the total number of registered parties to 21.
The announcement was made on Thursday by INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, during the first regular consultative meeting with political parties. While the DLA emerged successful following a rigorous verification process, the registration of the NDC was in compliance with a Federal High Court order.
Despite the new additions, Prof. Amupitan expressed frustration over persistent leadership crises within several political parties, describing them as a threat to the Constitution and a distraction from INEC’s core mandate.
“Our collective commitment to the integrity of the electoral process is being challenged by the unfortunate and increasingly frequent leadership crises within political parties,” Amupitan said. “These disputes often spill into needless litigations that tax the judicial system and divert the Commission from its primary responsibilities.”
He further questioned the value of registering or retaining parties plagued by recurrent leadership struggles and court orders, noting that litigation consumes time and resources that should be spent mobilising voters.
The Chairman also highlighted a steady decline in voter turnout in Nigeria, noting that participation in presidential elections dropped from 53.7% in 2011 to 26.7% in 2023, emphasizing that technology alone cannot solve voter apathy. “Citizens’ trust is often eroded by a perceived lack of democratic dividends or the fear that their voices do not matter. We must change this narrative together,” he stated.
INEC also confirmed its readiness for upcoming elections, including the FCT Area Council Elections on February 21, 2026, with 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling units, as well as the Ekiti Governorship Election on June 20, 2026, and the Osun Governorship Election on August 8, 2026.
To ensure credible polls, the Commission announced a nationwide Voter Revalidation Exercise aimed at sanitizing the register of 93.4 million voters to remove duplicates and deceased entries.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, urged INEC to maintain neutrality and adhere to party constitutions to avoid perceptions of bias. He also called for significant electoral reforms, including the abolition of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and the mandatory real-time transmission of election results to INEC’s IReV portal.
Dantalle further recommended holding all elections on the same day to reduce costs, prevent bandwagon effects, and address voter fatigue, reinforcing calls for a more efficient and transparent electoral system.
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