Party registration depends on compliance with constitutional, statutory requirements – IPAC

Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has said that registration of political parties depends on compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

The National Publicity Secretary of IPAC, Mr Martins Egbeola, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Our correspondent reports that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, had, during the commission’s quarterly meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja on Thursday, announced the registration of two new political parties

The two new parties are Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Our correspondent reports that the new additions have brought the total number of political parties in Nigeria to 21.

Reacting to the development, Egbeola said that INEC cannot deny qualified associations registration if they met the constitutional and statutory requirements.

He stated that any association that failed to meet the mandatory conditions could not lawfully demand recognition as a political party.

“Whether the registration of just two parties out of the 171 political associations that applied for registration is fair or not depends entirely on compliance with statutory requirements for registration.

“If political associations that met all the requisite conditions were denied registration, then such an outcome would be unfair and unjustifiable.

“However, if those not registered failed to satisfy the basic requirements, then INEC’s action cannot be considered unfair.

“It will be illegal to register any political party that does not meet the prescribed criteria;” he said.

According to the IPAC spokesperson, registration of two parties among 171 applicants hinges on constitutional and statutory compliance.