13 Political Parties to Contest Election: 3 New, 5 Suspended

Registration of a new political party does not have a time frame that depicts when to register and when not to.

This is according to Acting Registrar of the Political Parties Commission, Glinson Galo when clarifying reports that stated the registering process of a party will stop nine (9) months before the election date.

He said only the period between the announcement of the election date by the governor general, and the day after the release of election results is not allowed to register any new political parties.

“The period is called the blank out period and it’s the only time the commission will not allow any registration of any new political party,” Galo clarified.

He adds that the number of Political Parties currently registered at the Political Parties Commission stands at thirteen (13).

Mr Galo, however said parties that will be contesting the national general election will be confirmed at the commencement of the nomination period.

He said Five (5) Political Parties were deregistered last year because of noncompliance with the Political Parties Integrity Act.

“Last year we suspended three political parties and de-registered them based on the grounds that there are certain sections within the Political Parties Integrity Act those parties are not complying with,” Mr. Galo said.

He in the meantime said the commission has approved the registration of three new political parties this year.

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By Alex Dadamu