In May 2019, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the governorship election in Bayelsa and Kogi ...
In May 2019, the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the governorship election in
Bayelsa and Kogi states. The timetable highlights series of activities
beginning with the notice of election scheduled for the 17th of
August 2019 and immediately followed by the collection of the forms CF001 and
CF002 which kick starts the timeline for the conduct of the party primaries
scheduled from 18th August to 5th September 2019. Party
primary is a fundamental activity in the electoral process for several reasons.
At first instance, the primary election is central because it is the process
through which candidates emerge in a political party to contest in the
elections, without which parties cannot field candidates in the elections.
In addition, the constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria does not provide for independent candidacy but recognizes duly
registered political parties as the platforms upon which an individual can
contest in an election. On another instance, primaries facilitate the right to
contest in an election because the conduct of primaries is a major determinant
of a political party’s access to the ballot. As reiterated by the supreme court
in APC & Anor. V Senator Kabiru and
Ors (Zamfara APC case); “where a
political party fails to conduct primaries, then it is apparent that that
political party cannot participate in the general elections. For this reason,
all political parties have promulgated their constitutions and guidelines where
the procedure for selection of candidates for general elections are provided.”
As such, only parties that have duly conducted primaries in line with the
Electoral Act and Guidelines for the conduct of primaries and within the
timeline in the Election Timetable are granted access to the ballot.
Beyond the guarantee of the access to ballot, party
primaries ordinarily are to set the agenda for the elections giving aspirants
the opportunity to highlight the issues in their manifesto as they commence
their campaigns for the primaries. Although this is not always the case, as
political parties in Nigeria are yet to appreciate the importance of robust
political debates on issues during elections as more focus is just on the
politics of winning the party ticket. However, the ability of different aspirants
to articulate the issues in their manifesto during the campaigns for the
primaries enables the voter to understand what each candidate represents and
make informed decision at the polls. As
Nigeria’s democracy grows, there is more interest by citizens and Civil society
groups in the party primaries which ordinarily are viewed by political parties
as “party affairs”. The growing quest to observe the primaries is borne from
the recognition of the role the primaries play in our electoral democracy and
the fact that the shortfalls from the primary elections can hinder efforts
targeted at achieving credible elections.
As revealed in the YIAGA AFRICA Watching the Vote
observation reports on the 2019 Party Primaries, the monetization of the
primaries and the non-compliance with existing laws and guidelines created an
environment that enabled the increase in the reports of the purchase of the PVC,
voter inducement and vote buying. In addition, was the incidents of electoral
violence and the litany of pre-election cases that negatively impacted on the
2019 general election.
Accordingly, while Political parties may assert that the
primary election is an internal political party, the reality is that the
primary election informs as political culture which influenced by the practice
within the party which sets the tone for political campaigns and has major
impact on how democratic or otherwise the elections will be. A flawed primaries
process enables a vulnerable electoral system exposed to election related
conflicts, undermining the confidence in the electoral process and leaves a
litany of aggrieved persons which as was the case in the 2019 general
elections, leads to a plethora of pre-election cases court. This growing trend
of flawed primaries is not sustainable, remains inimical to the development of
our electoral process in Nigeria and at the least raises situations that creates
distraction to the electoral commission in the preparation for election.
The Electoral Act in section 87 clearly states that ‘a
party seeking to nominate candidate in the elections shall hold primaries for
aspirants into the elective offices” which further states that the parties can
adopt a direct or indirect primary. With the direct primaries requiring that
all aspirant be given equal opportunity to be voted for. While for the indirect
primaries, special congresses are to be held in the Local Government Areas with
delegates voting for each aspirant and the aspirant with the highest votes cast
declared the winner of the primaries.
With the timetable of Bayelsa and Kogi released, political
party campaign activities towards the party primaries have commenced with the
All Progressive Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
dominating the political scene so far. Other parties that are coming up into
the race in recent times are: Social Democratic Party (SDP), Africa Democratic
Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) with the
potential for more parties as the primaries begin.
Notably, certain issues
already dominating the discourse on the primaries include the method of
primaries adopted by the parties with the APC and PDP adopting indirect
primaries and then high cost of nomination and expression of interest forms,
especially by the APC and PDP in both states. The APC nomination and expression
of interest cost N22.5 million with a 50% discount for female aspirants plus an
additional administrative fee to be paid. While for the PDP, the cost for
nomination is N20 million while expression of interest is 1million. For female
aspirants in PDP the cost for nomination is 1 million naira with no requirement
to pay expression of interest fee. For the PDP, about 21 aspirants and 12
aspirants had by the last week of July 2019 purchased their nomination in
Bayelsa and Kogi states respectively.
More importantly is the role the electoral commission
will be playing in ensuring strict compliance to the election timetable and the
Guidelines for the conduct of primaries. The role of INEC to monitor political
party primaries requires that each party be assessed by their compliance with
the required procedures and the provisions of the Electoral Act. The Supreme
court’s decision on the Zamfara APC case is a call to political parties and
their leaders to review their party processes and commit to duly conducting
democratic party primary elections, and as urged by the court; to “play the
game according to the law and guidelines which they themselves have made.”
Possible Issues to look out for in the party primaries
include:
Political
Exclusion: high cost of nomination forms by both the APC and PDP
remains worrisome as it maintains the trend of money determining the aspirants
in a primary rather than qualification, capacity, competence and manifesto for
the candidates. The cost of nomination is therefore the first screening grounds
to exclude on grounds of financial strength especially for young aspirants and
women.
Commercialization
of the votes: Beyond the cost of nomination is also the
role money will play in determining the votes of the delegates. With money
becoming a determining factor already, the cost of a delegate’s vote will not be
decided by the delegates conviction of an aspirant capacity but in his/her
interest in bargaining the best price for the vote. The cost for each vote may
be a huge burden on aspirants with less financial strength.
Intra-Party
Conflict and threat of Electoral Violence: Both the APC and PDP have
opted to adopt the indirect primaries for their party primaries with different
aspirants in the APC for instance, questioning the decision for the process of
primaries adopted by the party leadership. Beyond that is the wrangling’s already
existing within the parties in the pre-primaries phase already creating a politically
tensed atmosphere. The ability of the party leadership to manage and balance
the interests for different top individuals seeking to clinch the party ticket
will be a significant factor in quelling post-primaries conflict. In addition,
the willingness to comply and the level of compliance by the political parties with
the party guidelines, INEC Guideline for the conduct of Primaries, the
Electoral Act and conducting transparent primaries will play a significant role
in reducing the tendency of violence during the primaries, post-primaries
conflict and also the number of pre-election matters in court.
Troubled
times for women in politics- The primaries for the
different political parties will also be determining the number of female candidates
to contest in both elections. The APC and PDP have only 1 female aspirant each,
but as more parties plan for their primaries, there may be hope that more
female aspirants will contest. However, the question is whether we will have
women emerging as candidates in both states from parties contesting in the
election. Will Political parties be willing to support female candidates in the
16 November 2019 governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states?
--Cynthia Mbamalu is a devoted Human Rights and Gender
advocate and Program Manager of YIAGA AFRICA
COMMENTS