S’Court affirms INEC’s deregistration of political parties

ANDREW OROLUA, ABUJA.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed with the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that deregistered National Unity Party and others.

The apex court in a unanimous judgement affirmed the concurrent judgments of the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court that okayed the deregistration of National Unity Party and others.

INEC had last year deregistered 74 political parties following their failures to win any seat during the 2019 general election.

In the judgement, delivered by Justice China Nweze, the apex court said the deregistration of NUP, one of the 74 parties, was done in line with the laws and in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution and Electoral Act.

NUP had in the appeal challenged the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court hoping that the apex court would upturn it to keep the party afloat.

That hope evaporated yesterday with the judgement, so also the fate of 73 other deregistered political parties which are appeared sealed if we are to go by precedent though they are not party to the appeal.

In its appeal before the apex court, NUP had challenged its deregistration by INEC at the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

The Abuja Division of the Appeal Court had on July 29, 2020, affirmed the powers of the National Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister political parties.

Delivering the lead judgment of a panel of the court, Justice Mohammed Idris, held that INEC did not err in law in the deregistration of the National Unity Party, which filed the appeal.

The court upheld the judgment of Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja which had early in 2020 cancelled the deregistration of NUP and 73 other political parties for being in breach of section 225(a)of the Nigeria Constitution.

The said constitutional provision spells out the minimum election victory a party must record or percentage of votes it must poll to sustain its status as a registered political party.

INEC, in deregistering the affected 74 political parties in February stated that they failed to meet the minimum requirement.

After Justice Taiwo’s judgment on NUP in May, other judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja, have upheld the deregistration of almost 40 other affected parties.