Ahead of the 2027 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the registration of two new political parties, the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). making the total parties twenty-one.

The registration of the two new political parties was announced by the INEC chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, on Thursday at the commission’s first regular consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja.

According to the INEC chairman, the commission vetted the parties before finalising their registration, and following the approval of the DLA as a political party, INEC registered the NDC as a political party in accordance with a court order.

Speaking further about the registration, Amupitan stated that after the commission received 171 letters of intent from associations requesting recognition as political parties, the registration was subjected to a thorough evaluation process, noting that 14 associations passed the initial pre-qualification stage, but only eight associations submitted their documents.

“Of these, eight successfully uploaded their documents on the commission’s dedicated portal. They are the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), Abundance Social Party (ASP), African Alliance Party (AAP), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Green Future Party (GFP), National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).”

Speaking about the court order that propelled the commission to register the NDC as a political party, Professor Amupitan said, “The Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi state, in suit No. FHC/LKJ/CS/49/2025 between Barr Takori Mohammed Sanni & Ors v. INEC ordered the commission to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party,” he said.

“The commission has decided to comply with the order, and it is being registered as a political party. Certificate of Registration will be handed over to the two new political parties in due course.”

Prof. Amupitan expressed deep frustration with the “growing spate of internal disputes” that are currently rocking several political parties in response to the new additions.

“Our collective commitment to the integrity of the electoral process is being challenged by the unfortunate and increasingly frequent leadership crises within political parties.” Our collective commitment to the integrity of the electoral process is being tested by the unfortunate and increasingly common leadership crises within political parties. often spill into needless litigations that tax the judicial system and divert the Commission from its core mandate.”

He shared his discouragement with the constant legal tussles and struggles among political parties. “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.

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