From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced the shortlisting of associations that have met the criteria to advance to the next stage of political party registration.
The commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, saying the number of applications received has risen to 151.
According to him, the shortlist of successful associations will be made public immediately after the August 16 by-elections.
“Since the fourth update released on July 23, 2025, the commission has received eight more letters of intent from associations seeking registration as political parties, bringing the total to 151.
“Having created the portal for party registration, the commission has commenced shortlisting associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage. Details will be released immediately after the by-elections in 12 states scheduled for Saturday, August 16, 2025,” Olumekun said.
On the resumption of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration scheduled to begin on August 18, Olumekun said the exercise would take place in 811 centres, comprising INEC’s 774 local government offices and 37 state and Federal Capital Territory offices, from 9am to 3pm, Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays.
He added that for easy identification, the commission would deploy an online CVR Live Locator to help citizens find registration centres nationwide.
The locator will go live on August 17 and can be accessed on INEC’s official platforms.
Olumekun said a 38-page document containing the addresses of the 811 in-person registration centres had been uploaded to INEC’s website and other official platforms, alongside dedicated telephone lines for each state to serve as help desks.
“The procedure for both online and in-person registration remains the same as in 2022. Detailed information on the process, including video clips, will be released next week,” he said.
