No fewer than 110 applications have been received by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from associations seeking registration as political parties.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this on Wednesday during the second regular consultative meeting with media executives held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

According to him, all the applications—except six submitted recently—have been acknowledged by the Commission and are being processed in line with the provisions of the law, as well as INEC’s regulations and guidelines.

Yakubu said: “Clearly, one of the topical issues on election administration in our country today is the status of the letters of intent we received from associations seeking registration as political parties amidst partisan insinuations in some quarters that the Commission is equivocating on the matter in a manner that compromises our independence.

“Nothing can be further from the truth. Nigerians may recall that the same unfounded accusation was made under similar circumstances in 2013—that the Commission was not keen on the proposed merger of political parties because INEC had ‘merged with the ruling party’ at the time.

“For the record, the present Commission registered the largest number of political parties in Nigeria strictly following the provision of the electoral legal framework. For the 2019 General Election, there were 91 political parties and 73 presidential candidates. The Commission was criticised in some quarters for registering too many political parties.

“After the election, the Commission also deregistered over 70 political parties as provided by law. We wish to reassure Nigerians that under the current situation, we will continue to be guided by law and act with fairness to all associations seeking registration as political parties. We will treat all requests fairly, irrespective of the status of their promoters—be they ordinary or prominent citizens. Nigerians will be fully briefed on the actions taken by the Commission every step of the way.

“As of Monday, 23rd June 2025, the Commission has received letters of intent from 110 associations that wish to register as political parties. We are diligently processing the requests in line with the procedure outlined in the law, as well as our Regulations and Guidelines.

“We have acknowledged all requests received so far, except six of them received recently, which will be done before the end of the week. For emphasis, I wish to inform Nigerians, particularly those interested in registering new political parties, that the handbook containing the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022 is already available on the Commission’s website.” (Text, excluding headline: The Guardian)