Court Upholds De-registration Of DPP, RAP As Political Parties
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, affirmed the power of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to de-register political parties that failed to meet the requirements contained in section 225 (a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The court, in separate judgments that were delivered by Justice Evelyn Maha, dismissed as lacking in merit, two suits the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, and Reform and Advancement Party, RAP, filed to challenge their deregistration by INEC.
The court held that the Plaintiffs failed to by preponderance of the evidence, establish why they should continue to racist as political parties, having failed to secure any seat in previous elections.
It noted that the two deregistered parties did not in their pleadings, deny the fact that they were unable to meet the required statutory benchmark contained in section 225 of the Constitution.
Justice Maha stressed that INEC has a binding obligation to act in accordance with express provisions of the Constitution, saying it did not act ultra-vires its powers by withdrawing the registration of the Plaintiffs for their non-performance in past elections.
“Section 225 provides the law guiding the existence of political parties in Nigeria.
“There is no evidence that the Defendant unlawfully re-registered the 3rd Plaintiff”, the court held.
It said the use of the word “Shall” in section 225 of the Constitution placed a mandatory responsibility on INEC to de-register political parties that failed to meet the constitutional requirement.
Meanwhile, one of the Plaintiffs, RAP, vowed to challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
The defunct party, through its lawyer, Mr. Okere Kingdom, maintained that the trial court misunderstood the case it brought before it for adjudication.
