BREAKING: Court Orders INEC to Deregister ADC, Four Other Political Parties

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties over their failure to meet constitutional electoral performance requirements.

The other affected political parties are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The order followed a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu in a suit instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators.

The plaintiffs had asked the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to deregister political parties that fail to satisfy the electoral performance thresholds stipulated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC regulations.

According to the former lawmakers, the five political parties consistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.

They argued that the requirements include securing at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning at least one elective seat at the federal, state, or local government level.

The plaintiffs further told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections conducted by INEC, failing to secure victories across major tiers of government.

Justice Lifu, in his ruling, held that INEC is bound by constitutional provisions to enforce compliance and take necessary action against political parties that fail to meet the stipulated electoral standards.