INEC deregisters 28 political parties

Months after deregistering some political parties for not meeting up with the requirements of the electoral law, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last night wielded its axe on 28 political parties it deemed as non-performing.
The parties were in effect deregistered by INEC. The deregistration was in culmination of INEC in the past 10 years to delist parties they deem unfit to operate in the political environment. By INEC standards, a party’s competent to remain relevant when it wins electoral positions at different levels of national elections. A previous attempt by INEC at deregistration of parties was frustrated by a supreme court judgement in about 2002 when late Gani Fawhinmi challenged the conditions for acceptance at the deregistration of parties. The development yesterday did not come as a surprise as the amended electoral act had re-defined the conditions for the validity of a politicial party.
Before the last onslaught, INEC had severally sounded the alarm that they will invoke the clauses of the electoral act to revoke the validity of unperforming political parties. Therefore, yesterday INEC ruled out the parities as not fit to continue to act as valid political platforms for aspiring politicians to public offices INEC Secretary, Abdulahi Kaugama, said in a statement that the action conforms with the powers conferred on it by the I999 Constitution as amended, and the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
The statement reads: “In the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the Independent National Electoral Commission has today, Thursday, December 6, 2012, de-registered the following political parties: 1. African Liberation Party (ALP) 2. Action Party of Nigeria (APN) 3. African Political System (APS) 4. Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP) 5. Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) 6.Community Party of Nigeria (CPN) 7.Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) 8. Freedom Party of Nigeria (FPN) 9.Fresh Democratic Party (FDP) 10. Hope Democratic Party (HDP) 11. Justice Party (JP) 12. Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria (LDPN) 13.Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ) 14. Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD) 15. Nigeria Advanced Party (NAP) 16. New Democrats (ND) 17.National Majority Democratic Party (NMDP) 18.National Movement of Progressive Party (NMPP) 19.National Reformation Party (NRP) 20.National Solidarity Democratic Party (NSDP) 21.Progressive Action Congress (PAC) 22.Peoples Mandate Party (PMP) 23.Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) 24.Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) 25.People’s Salvation Party (PSP) 26.Republican Party of Nigeria (RPN) 27. United National Party for Development (UNPD) 28.
United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP) “The commission hereby reiterates its commitment to relating with political parties in accordance with extant laws and for the benefit of our electoral democracy.” It was not immediately possible to get the reaction of some of the parties last night.