Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Oluwole Oke, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to revoke the registration of inactive political parties that contribute little to Nigeria’s democratic process but clutter the ballot and mislead voters.
In a policy paper released in Osogbo on Monday, titled “Strengthening INEC’s Regulatory Role Over Political Parties to Safeguard Democratic Integrity,” the lawmaker criticised the growing number of parties that reappear only during election cycles without meaningful national presence or commitment to governance.
“Our ballot paper has become one of the longest and most confusing in the world. Voters, whether literate or not, often find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of party logos. Many end up voting in error or invalidating their ballots,” Oke said.
He blamed the spread of “paper-based parties,” those lacking candidates, operational structures or electoral engagement, for complicating the voting process and frustrating voter participation, particularly among those with limited literacy.
Referencing Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Oke noted that INEC has the constitutional mandate to deregister political parties that fail to meet minimum requirements such as electoral performance or nationwide presence.
“Many of these so-called political parties do not contest elections meaningfully. They have no candidates, no national spread, and no genuine commitment to the democratic process. INEC must take decisive action to sanitise the system,” he said.
He also criticised some of the inactive parties for filing post-election petitions despite not contesting meaningfully, describing such actions as attempts to exploit legal channels rather than seek justice.
Oke proposed an amendment to the Electoral Act to prevent parties that did not actively participate in elections from lodging legal challenges.
“The rise of these unserious parties wastes INEC’s resources and undermines the ability of voters to make clear, informed decisions.
“Clarity on the ballot is essential to free and fair elections. We must not let our democratic process be hijacked by party logos that carry no real political mandate or purpose,” he added.
