Party registration: INEC receives 108 fresh applications

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday, said it had received no fewer than 108 fresh applications from associations seeking registration as political parties.
Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, made the disclosure while speaking on: “Citizen, Government and Technology ’’at the ongoing Lagos Social Media Week.
The commission had in December registered 21 new political parties.
The registration of the new parties brought the total number of registered political parties in the country to 68.
Yakubu, who addressed the session via a video call, said the fresh applications were being processed by the commission.
“As of Friday, we received no fewer than 108 fresh applications from political associations seeking to be registered as political parties.
“We have begun the processing and scrutinising the applications and we will register those that meet the eligibility criteria,’’ he said.
The INEC chairman said that the commission would continue to register political associations as parties so long as they meet the set guidelines.
He, however, said political associations which sought registration six months before the general election would be barred from the polls.
Yakub said the commission decided to take the step to ensure that parties had enough time to prepare for the elections.
He said the commission was glad that out of the 21 parties that were registered recently, four were driven by women.
The INEC boss added that the commission had always been advocating gender inclusiveness in governance and electoral process.
On the release of elections timetable for the next 36 years by INEC, Yakubu said the commission had not done anything strange, but was only ensuring certainty in the electoral process and management.
“We released the timetable because we believe we have reached a point where election date should not be a matter of conjecture, it should be known. That is what obtains elsewhere.
“At Ghana, everybody knows the election date and it has remained the same for the past six years, in Kenya, it is August 8, and that is known to all Kenyans.
“So, the essence of the timetable is to ensure some certainty, such that every Nigerian knows the election date regardless of the year,’’ he said.
On the move to re-order the sequence of the 2019 election, Yakubu said the INEC timetable remained sacrosanct for now.
He said there was no law yet compelling the altering of the sequence, adding that the National Assembly’s proposal could only be considered with the coming of a new law.
The chairman noted that the commission was working closely with parties to promote internal democracy, and was putting checks on political parties to ensure that they comply with election spending limits.
The INEC boss urged the public to support the commission in the efforts to endure free and fair governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states, as well as the 2019 general elections.