By Nwosa Hamilton
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the introduction of an online portal for political party registration.
This comes as INEC revealed that the number of applications from associations seeking to become political parties has risen to 129.
This development was announced by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.
Olumekun explained that seven new applications were submitted within the past week, adding to the previous numbers.
He stated that the party registration portal is a step toward modernizing Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said the platform is part of the Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System and aims to streamline the registration process.
Olumekun also disclosed that final testing of the portal would be completed within the next week.
He said: “Since last week, seven more applications have been received, bringing the total number so far to 129. All the requests are being processed.
“Unlike the manual method used in previous registration, the Commission is introducing a political party registration portal, which is a module in our Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System.
“This will make the process faster and seamless. In the next week, the commission will conclude the final testing of the portal before deployment.
“Thereafter, the next step for associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage will be announced. The commission will also issue guidelines to facilitate the filing of applications using the PFRAS.”
