The Attorney General of the Federation has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties for failing to meet constitutional requirements.
It was reported that the affected parties include the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The suit, designated FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators.
The plaintiffs argued that the continued recognition of the parties by INEC is in contravention of the provisions of the Constitution and undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
They argued that the parties did not meet the performance thresholds as required under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
The plaintiffs claim that the parties concerned failed to achieve the minimum electoral performance needed for the maintenance of their registration.
This includes winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning at least one elective seat at the national, state or local government levels.
They argued that although the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, the parties are still on INEC’s register.
The Attorney General’s office has backed the plaintiff’s stance in court papers, saying the INEC is violating its constitutional obligation by keeping such parties.
The AGF said that, “unless the court intervenes, INEC would continue to act in breach of its constitutional duty.”
“The right to operate as a political party is not absolute and must comply with the provisions of the Constitution,” he added.
The plaintiffs submitted that the use of the word “shall” in the Constitution imposes a mandatory duty on INEC to deregister underperforming parties.
They said not doing so is a continuing breach of constitutional obligations.
Apart from deregistration, the plaintiffs asked the court to restrain the affected parties from participating in future elections or engaging in political activities such as campaigns, rallies and primaries.
They also applied for an order of injunction to restrain the INEC from recognizing or dealing with the parties if they do not comply with the constitutional requirements.
“This is a public interest litigation to protect the sanctity of democracy,” the Attorney General said.
He said allowing underperforming parties to remain registered contributes to ballot congestion, increases election costs and undermines accountability.
