Ahead of the 2027 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expanded Nigeria’s political space with the registration of two new political parties — the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) — bringing the total number of registered parties to 21.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, announced this on Thursday in Abuja at the Commission’s first regular consultative meeting with political parties, but used the occasion to voice strong concerns over persistent leadership crises within parties, warning that such disputes pose a threat to constitutional democracy.
While the DLA scaled through what INEC described as a rigorous verification process, the NDC was registered in compliance with an order of the Federal High Court.
Despite welcoming the new parties, Amupitan expressed frustration over what he called the “growing spate of internal disputes” rocking several political parties, noting that these conflicts often degenerate into prolonged litigations that distract the Commission from its core mandate.
“Our collective commitment to the integrity of the electoral process is being challenged by the unfortunate and increasingly frequent leadership crises within political parties,” he said.
“These disputes often spill into needless litigations that tax the judicial system and divert the Commission from its primary responsibility.”
He lamented that INEC is frequently joined as a party in internal squabbles, describing the trend as a major distraction.
“Each litigation consumes time and resources and diverts attention from critical tasks such as voter mobilisation,” Amupitan said. “At times, one wonders whether it is even necessary to continue registering or retaining some political parties, given the recurring leadership struggles and conflicting court orders declaring different individuals as party leaders.”
The INEC chairman also drew attention to the alarming decline in voter turnout over the years, describing it as a “sobering trend” that threatens democratic participation.
According to him, turnout in presidential elections has dropped steadily from 53.7 per cent in 2011 to 43.6 per cent in 2015, further down to 34.7 per cent in 2019, and hitting a record low of 26.7 per cent in the 2023 general election.
“Technology alone cannot solve voter apathy,” he said. “Citizens’ trust is often eroded by a perceived lack of democratic dividends or the fear that their votes do not count. This narrative must change, and it requires collective effort.”
Amupitan reaffirmed INEC’s readiness for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026, disclosing that 1,680,315 registered voters are expected to vote across 2,822 polling units.
He also said the Commission is preparing for the Ekiti State governorship election on June 20, 2026, and the Osun State governorship election on August 8, 2026.
As part of preparations for these elections and the 2027 general election, INEC will soon embark on a nationwide voter revalidation exercise to sanitise the voters’ register of 93.4 million entries by removing duplicates and deceased persons.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, urged INEC to remain neutral and strictly guided by party constitutions to avoid perceptions of bias.
Dantalle also renewed calls for sweeping electoral reforms, including the abolition of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).
“IPAC reiterates its position that SIECs should be scrapped and INEC empowered to conduct all elections nationwide, given its institutional expertise and capacity,” he said.
He further advocated mandatory real-time transmission of election results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and proposed that all elections be conducted on the same day to reduce costs, curb bandwagon effects and address voter fatigue.