Court dismisses suit challenging deregistration of 32 political parties

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday dismissed the suit challenging the deregistration of 32 political parties in Nigeria.

Justice Anwuli Chikere dismissed the suit filed by the parties, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lacked the power to deregister them.

The judge ruled that INEC rightly deregistered the parties in line with the provision of section 225(a) of the Nigerian Constitution.

The political parties challenging INEC’s decision were among the 74 that were deregistered by the INEC on February 6, 2020, on the grounds of poor performance at the 2019 general elections.

Explaining reasons for deregistering the parties, INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu the parties failed to meet constitutional requirements that determine the continuous existence of political parties in Nigeria.

INEC said the deregistered parties breached their requirements for registration because they failed to win at least 2596 of votes cast in one State of the federation during the Presidential election.

INEC also said the parties, since their existence, did not win one local government of a state in a governorship election.

The deregistered parties, according to INEC also failed to win at least one ward in the chairmanship elections in local governments as well as state and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.

Nigeria had 90 political parties before the registration of 74 parties which reduced the parties to 16.