The Independent National Electoral Commission has expanded Nigeria’s political landscape with the registration of two new political parties—the Democratic Leadership Alliance and the Nigeria Democratic Congress—bringing the total number of registered parties to 21 ahead of the 2027 general election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, announced the development on Thursday in Abuja during the Commission’s first regular consultative meeting with political parties. He said the Democratic Leadership Alliance successfully met the Commission’s verification requirements, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress was registered in compliance with an order of the Federal High Court.
Amupitan, however, expressed serious concern over persistent leadership crises within political parties, warning that the growing trend poses a threat to constitutional order and the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process. He noted that internal disputes often degenerate into prolonged litigations that overburden the judiciary and distract the Commission from its core responsibilities.
He lamented that INEC is frequently drawn into intra-party conflicts, describing the situation as a major distraction that consumes time and resources meant for voter mobilisation and election preparation. According to him, the recurring crises and conflicting court orders on party leadership sometimes raise questions about the continued registration or retention of certain political parties.
The INEC chairman also highlighted Nigeria’s declining voter turnout, describing the trend as alarming. He disclosed that participation in presidential elections has steadily dropped from 53.7 per cent in 2011 to 43.6 per cent in 2015, 34.7 per cent in 2019, and a historic low of 26.7 per cent in the 2023 general election. He stressed that technology alone cannot address voter apathy, noting that citizens’ trust is often weakened by perceived lack of democratic dividends or fears that their votes do not count.
On forthcoming elections, Amupitan reaffirmed the Commission’s readiness for the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026, stating that 1,680,315 registered voters are expected to vote across 2,822 polling units. He also said preparations were ongoing for the Ekiti State governorship election fixed for June 20, 2026, and the Osun State governorship election slated for August 8, 2026.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general election, he disclosed that INEC would soon begin a nationwide Voter Revalidation Exercise to clean up the voters’ register of 93.4 million names by removing duplicates and deceased persons.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, urged INEC to maintain strict neutrality and adhere to party constitutions to avoid any perception of bias. He also renewed calls for sweeping electoral reforms, including the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions and the transfer of responsibility for all elections to INEC.
Dantalle further advocated for the mandatory real-time transmission of election results to the IReV portal and proposed that all elections be conducted on the same day to reduce costs, curb bandwagon effects, and address voter fatigue.
