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June 28, 2002

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Election

Three Political Associations Scale Through INEC�s Hurdle

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has added three new political parties to the list of newly registered parties. The three additions political parties are the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the United Nigerian Peoples Party (UNPP), bringing the total number of parties that would contest in coming elections to six. 

Speaking to pressmen in Abuja on Friday, June 21, INEC Chairman, Dr. Abel Goubadia said of the 27 political associations that applied for registration, only the three new parties met the registration requirement of the commission.  According to him, �the commission has carefully deliberated on the outcome of its verification exercise and has found the three associations to have fully met the requirements for registration.� 

The three new political parties received their letters of registration from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja Monday, June 24 as earlier promised. The newly registered parties are calling for a shift of the August 10 local government elections to December this year so that all political parties in the country would have a fair and level playing field.  They said it would be unfair to conduct the elections as scheduled in August as that would amount to shortchanging them. 

21 Unregistered Political Associations Cry Fowl

Twenty-one unregistered associations in the country have asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make the results of its assessment of groups that sought registration as parties, public.  They have also demanded the immediate resignation of the chairman of the commission, Dr. Abel Guobadia, for allegedly misleading Nigerians with the result. The secretary of the conference of unregistered political associations, Dr. Olapade Agoro who made the feelings of the group known in Abuja said that the result was shocking and not a true reflection of the performance and structures of the unregistered associations.  The unregistered associations faulted INEC�s registration of just three new political parties and asked Nigerians to reject the results.

Meanwhile, the  Chairman of the unregistered National Conscience Party (NCP), Chief Gani Fawehinmi has dismissed the INEC registration exercise and describing it as fraudulent, and threatened to incite his supporters to make the country ungovernable over the non-registration of his party.  

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