By Festus Okoye
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The registration and deregistration of political parties in Nigeria are back on the front burner of national discourse as political activities leading to the 2027 general elections intensify.
The resurgent interest stems partly from the electoral management body’s refusal, neglect, or inability to register the more than 171 associations that applied for registration as of September 2025. It eventually registered one, and the second came into being through a court process.
Calls for the deregistration of some parties have also been echoed, given their lacklustre performance in previous elections. The country entered the 2023 general election with 18 political parties, and one was added to the docket immediately after the election.
Through judicial and other means, two additional associations have become political parties. Given the large number of political parties in Nigeria, does the country need more?
Coterminous to this is the question of what to do with non-performing parties. Is the electoral management body sufficiently prepared to fulfil its regulatory role in deregistering parties? What role do the courts play in the registration and deregistration of political parties?
Political parties are fundamental to the democratic and electoral processes, with serious implications for representation and governance. They mobilise their supporters and provide civic and voter education, enabling people to make informed choices.
In other words, they aggregate the interests of their members and supporters, serve as a recruiting ground for the sponsorship and nomination of candidates, formulate policies for incoming governments or opposition parties, and act as a vital link between citizens and the government.
In Nigeria, only political parties are permitted to sponsor candidates in any election and to canvass for votes for those candidates.
Hence, registration as a political party is a serious constitutional and statutory basis for political participation. Individuals and associations can participate in government, but their participation is limited, as they cannot sponsor candidates in elections or canvass for votes on their behalf.
It must be emphasised that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), guarantees freedom of association, and individuals are free to form associations for their own advancement and the pursuit of their goals and aspirations.
However, such associations cannot function as political parties because the Constitution requires registration upon satisfaction of certain conditions, and they can also be deregistered for breaching any of those conditions or for failing to meet certain electoral thresholds.
Under section 222 of the Constitution, no association, by whatever name, shall function as a party unless the names and addresses of its national officers are registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its membership is open to every citizen of Nigeria, irrespective of place of origin, circumstances of birth, sex, religion or ethnic grouping.
The association must also submit a copy of its constitution to INEC; its name and symbol or logo must not contain any ethnic or religious connotation or give the appearance that its activities are confined to any part of Nigeria’s geographical area; and its headquarters must be situated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Sections 223 and 224 set out further requirements for registration. The law requires any association that meets these requirements to be registered by the electoral management body as a political party.
The constitutional requirements for registration may be too simple, allowing unserious associations with a pedestrian disposition to slip in and become political parties.
Unfortunately, in a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law and due process, the constitution, as the fundamental law of the land, is supreme. What should be the fate of an association
Political parties will sit up and do the right thing if they are certain they will be held accountable and punished for infractions
that meets the constitutional threshold if the Commission refuses to register it? The answer lies in the Electoral Act, 2026, as the lawmakers anticipated that such a situation might arise.
Section 75 of the Electoral Act, 2026 provides that any political association that complies with the provisions of the Constitution and the Act for registration shall be registered as a political party, provided that the application for registration as a political party is duly submitted to the Commission no later than 12 months before a general election.
If the association has not fulfilled all the conditions stipulated in section 75 of the Act, the Commission shall, within 90 days of receipt of its application, notify the association in writing of the reasons for non-registration.
However, a political association that meets the conditions set out in the Constitution and the Act shall be registered by the Commission as a political party within 60 days of receipt of the application.
If, after 60 days, the Commission has not registered the association, unless the Commission informs the association to the contrary, the association shall be deemed registered.
Furthermore, a political association that believes it met all the requirements for registration but was not registered can challenge that decision in court.
Section 76 of the Act provides that the Commission’s decision not to register any association as a political party may be challenged in the Federal High Court, provided that any legal action challenging the Commission’s decision on non-registration is commenced within 14 days of receipt of the decision.
Section 225A of the Constitution authorises INEC to deregister delinquent political parties. It provides that the Commission shall have the power to deregister a political party for breach of any of the requirements for registration; for failing to win at least 25 per cent of the votes cast in one State of the Federation in a Presidential election, or in one Local Government of the State in a Governorship election; or for failing to win at least one ward in the Chairmanship election, one seat in the National or State House of Assembly election, or one seat in the Councillorship election.
The Commission can deregister a political party that no longer maintains an office in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It can deregister a political party that fails to meet the membership threshold for its executive committees.
It can deregister a political party that fails to hold periodic elections to elect the association’s officers. It can deregister a political party that fails to submit a statement to the Commission, including its assets and liabilities.
It can deregister a political party that fails to submit a detailed annual statement and analysis of its sources of funds and other assets. It can deregister a political party that holds or possesses any funds or other assets outside Nigeria.
Each deregistration threshold operates independently, and the Commission can deregister a party that breaches any threshold. This is part of its regulatory powers, and it does not share this power with any other organ or agency.
It will be recalled that the Commission deregistered the National Unity Party of Nigeria (NUP) on February 5, 2020, and the party brought an originating summons against the Commission in the Federal High Court on February 24, 2020.
On appeal to the Supreme Court, the Court dismissed the appeal and held that the purpose of Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution is to reduce the proliferation of unviable political parties.
The Court also held that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s powers to deregister a political party are statutory, and that it is therefore statutorily empowered to deregister any political party that fails to meet any of the conditions set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) and 22 others also went to Court and lost. A political party can come into being by being registered by the Commission, by the statutory process of deemed registration, or through a court process. Such a political party is legal and bears all the incidents of constitutional and legal legitimacy.
A political party can also be deregistered even if it has the President, Governors and members of the National and State Assemblies. If it breaches any of the conditions for deregistration, it can be deregistered.
Party registration and deregistration require a strong commitment to democracy and the electoral process. They require an electoral management body that acts professionally, ethically and with a sense of fairness and justice.
They also require an electoral management body that understands the enormous regulatory powers it wields. Political parties will sit up and do the right thing if they are certain they will be held accountable and punished for infractions.
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