FG Seeks Court Order to Deregister Underperforming Parties

The Attorney General of the Federation has initiated legal proceedings in the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties: the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, argues that these parties have failed to meet the constitutional performance thresholds as outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022.

The plaintiff contends that the parties did not secure the minimum electoral performance required to retain their registration, including winning at least 25% of votes in state elections or securing at least one electoral seat at any level. Despite their poor performance in the 2023 general elections, these parties remain registered with INEC.

The Attorney General emphasizes that allowing underperforming parties to remain registered contributes to ballot congestion and increases electoral costs, thus undermining democratic integrity.