Nigeria has 68 political parties upon 138 applications still pending—INEC boss
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has given assurance that the emerging 2019 general elections will be the most well-planned in Nigeria, hinting that “so far 68 political parties at present with 138 applications still pending”.
Giving insights on the level of preparation at the just concluded 67th World Congress of the International Press Institute (IPI), he said the number of voters in the country has hit about 80 million mark although it could be higher before the next poll.
While ruling out electronic voting in 2019 upon the surging teledensity and over 100m phone users, he noted that technology will be deployed to make the process credible.
INEC chairman did not give any detail on how technology will be used without electronic voting.
According to him, “The 2019 general elections will involve the largest number of registered voters in our history. We are currently inching closer to 80 million voters although the nationwide voter registration exercise is ongoing. The figure will certainly rise above 80 million registered voters.
“The largest number of political parties will field candidates in the elections. There are 68 political parties at present. However, with 138 applications from associations seeking registration as political parties, the number is set to rise higher. The political parties will contest in elections into 1,558 national, state as well as local constituencies in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja).
“From the statistics of new voter registration nationwide, youths will play a far greater role in the elections and processes thereof in 2019 than in previous elections.
“There is also increasing determination by marginalized groups such as women, youths and Persons With Disabilities (PWDS) for greater participation that ever before and we are working with these groups to facilitate their full participation in the electoral process.
“Clearly, the 2019 general election is the most deliberately well-planned election in Nigeria so far. We have formulated, validated and published the Strategic Plan (2016-2021), the Strategic Programme of Action and the Election Project Plan with the full participation of all stakeholders and development partners.
INEC boss added that “As we are planning, we are also test running our plans. We have been fortunate to have conducted more off-season elections than any commission in the history of our democracy: re-run elections (by court order following successful litigations), bye-elections and end-of-tenure elections.
