MON, FEB 17 2020-theG&BJournal- The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been ordered to stay action with immediate effect from de-registering any political party in the country by a Federal High Court in Abuja Monday.
INEC on February 6, 2020 announced it has de-registered 74 out of the 92 registered political parties in the country. INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu said they were being de-registered for their inability to fulfill requirements for existence based on Section 225A of the 1999 constitution (As amended).
Yakubu, in announcing their de-registration, said that the 1999 constitution vests in INEC, the power to register and regulate activities of political parties. He said only 16 political parties fulfilled the requirements for existence based on Section 225A of the 1999 constitution.
The ruling Monday by the Federal High Court effectively renders INEC’s pronouncement on the 74 political parties null and void.
The court ruling today follows a suit filed instantly by one of the affected political parties, the ACTION PEOPLES PARTY (APP) in court were it obtained an order restraining INEC from de-registering it.
Several other political parties had filled similar suits in courts challenging INEC’s decision, mostly on the grounds that the Electoral Act is inferior to the Federal Constitution and that de-registration infringes their fundamental rights under the same constitution.
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