As preparations intensify for the 2027 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has broadened Nigeria’s political space with the registration of two additional political parties—the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
At the same time, the Commission openly questioned the rationale behind continually registering new parties or allowing existing ones to retain their status when many are plagued by persistent leadership conflicts, warning that such crises pose a serious threat to constitutional democracy.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, made these remarks on Thursday during the Commission’s first regular consultative meeting with political parties. He confirmed that the approval of DLA and NDC has increased the total number of registered political parties in the country to 21.
According to him, the DLA successfully scaled INEC’s stringent verification and assessment process, while the NDC gained registration following compliance with an order of the Federal High Court.
Notwithstanding the expansion, Prof. Amupitan voiced strong concern over what he described as the “growing spate of internal disputes” afflicting several political parties.
He said, “Our collective commitment to the integrity of the electoral process is being challenged by the unfortunate and increasingly frequent leadership crises within political parties.
“These disputes often spill into needless litigations that tax the judicial system and divert the Commission from its core mandate.”
The INEC Chairman stressed that the Commission’s repeated involvement as a party in internal political battles has become a major distraction.
“Each litigation consumes time and resources and distracts from the important work of mobilising voters.
“Sometimes, you wonder whether one should even continue to register or retain some political parties, given the recurring leadership struggles and court orders declaring different individuals as party leaders,” he added.
Amupitan also drew attention to what he termed a “sobering trend” in voter participation across the country. He disclosed that data from past presidential elections shows a steady decline in turnout, dropping from 53.7 per cent in 2011 to 43.6 per cent in 2015, further falling to 34.7 per cent in 2019, and hitting an all-time low of 26.7 per cent in the 2023 General Election.
“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 said.
The Commission also reaffirmed its preparedness for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections scheduled for February 21, 2026.
Amupitan revealed that a total of 1,680,315 registered voters are expected to take part in the polls across 2,822 polling units.
Looking further ahead, INEC said it is already making plans for the Ekiti State Governorship Election billed for June 20, 2026, as well as the Osun State Governorship Election fixed for August 8, 2026.
As part of measures to safeguard the credibility of these elections and the 2027 General Election, the Commission announced plans for a nationwide Voter Revalidation Exercise aimed at “sanitising” the voters’ register of 93.4 million entries by removing duplicate records and the names of deceased persons.
In his contribution, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, urged INEC to continue acting as an impartial umpire and to be “firmly” guided by party constitutions to prevent accusations of bias.
Dantalle also renewed calls for far-reaching electoral reforms, including the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).
“IPAC therefore reiterates its position that SIECs be scrapped and INEC empowered to conduct all elections nationwide, given its institutional expertise and capacity,” he said.
He further advocated that the “real-time transmission of election results to the IReV portal to be mandatory” and proposed that all elections should be conducted on the same day in order to “reduce costs, prevent bandwagon effects, and address voter fatigue.”
What you should know
INEC’s registration of two new political parties highlights its openness to expanding political participation ahead of the 2027 elections, but the Commission is increasingly concerned about internal party crises that frequently end up in court.
Alongside warnings over declining voter turnout, INEC is pushing administrative reforms, voter register clean-up, and early preparations for upcoming elections, while political stakeholders continue to debate deeper structural reforms to Nigeria’s electoral system.
