Opposition leaders under the coalition movement omitted the
word “electoral” from their letter addressed to the chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the registration of a new political
party.
The application, dated June 19, was addressed to “The
Chairman, Independent National Commission (INEC), 436, Zambezi Crescent,
Maitama, Abuja FCT.”
The coalition, which is being spearheaded by former
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Nasir el-Rufai, ex-governor of Kaduna,
applied to register a new political party called “All Democratic Alliance
(ADA)”
The letter was co-signed by Akin Ricketts, national chairman
of ADA, and Abdullahi Musa Elayo, protem national secretary.
A stamped copy of the letter seen by TheCable showed that it
was received by the office of the INEC chairman on June 20.
“We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral
Commission requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic
Alliance as a political party,” the letter reads.
“This is sequel to the decision taken by the Nigerian
National Coalition Group to sponsor our association for full registration.
“The name of the party shall be All Democratic Alliance with
ADA as our acronym and ‘Justice for All’ as our slogan.”
The omission of the word “electoral” in the letterhead
raises questions on whether the electoral umpire will accept or reject the
application.
LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR
REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES
The 1999 constitution (as amended) gives INEC the power to
register political parties in Nigeria and deregister existing ones.
Section 221 of the 1999 constitution states: “No association
by whatever name called shall function as a party,
unless – (a) the names and addresses of its national officers
are registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission;
“(b) the membership of the association is open to every
citizen of Nigeria irrespective of his place of origin, circumstance of birth,
sex, religion or ethnic grouping.
“(c) a copy of its constitution is registered in the
principal office of the Independent National Electoral Commission in such form
as may be prescribed by the Independent National Electoral Commission;
“(d) any alteration in its registered constitution is also
registered in the principal office of the Independent National Electoral
Commission within thirty days of the making of such alteration;
“(e) the name of the association, its symbol or logo does
not contain any ethnic or religious connotation or give the appearance that the
activities of the association are confined to a part only of the geographical
area of Nigeria; and
“(f) the headquarters of the association is situated in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”
The Electoral Act 2022 also stipulates that an application
for registration of a political party must be submitted to INEC a year before
the general election.
Section 75 (1) of the act states that: “Any political association that complies with the provisions of the Constitution and this Act for the purposes of registration shall be registered as a political party: PROVIDED however, that such application for registration as a political party shall be duly submitted to the Commission not later than 12 months before a general election.
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