Nigeria’s political landscape has expanded with the registration of two new political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed the development on Thursday in Abuja during its first consultative meeting with political parties for the year.

INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, announced that the newly registered parties are the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

He explained that the approvals followed a rigorous screening process triggered by overwhelming interest from political associations seeking recognition.

“INEC received no fewer than 171 letters of intent from groups seeking registration,” Amupitan disclosed, noting that only a handful met preliminary benchmarks.

After multiple screening stages, just 14 associations advanced to pre-qualification, while eight successfully uploaded statutory documents via INEC’s digital portal.

Among them were the All Democratic Alliance, Citizens Democratic Alliance, Abundance Social Party, African Alliance Party, Democratic Leadership Alliance and others.

However, Amupitan said most failed at the final compliance stage, leaving only the DLA to fully satisfy constitutional and Electoral Act requirements.

He further clarified that the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress followed a binding court order issued by a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State.

“As a law-abiding institution, INEC has complied with the court’s directive,” he said.

Certificates of registration will be presented to both parties at a later date.