October 17, (THEWILL) – As the amendment to the Electoral Act is ongoing at the National Assembly, last Tuesday’s amendment of the Senate’s earlier clause, where it gave political parties the option of direct and indirect primaries as a mode of selecting candidates for general elections, is already generating agitation among political parties and leaders across the country.
The amendment by the Red Chamber has jettisoned indirect primary and restricted political parties to only direct primary.
The amended Clause 87 on nomination of candidates by parties, now Clause 87. (1), reads, “A political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this Bill shall hold direct primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which shall be monitored by the Commission.”
It should also be noted that the House of Representatives had earlier adopted the direct primary as a method for the emergence of candidates for general elections.
The Conference Committee set up by both chambers is expected to harmonise the resolutions of both chambers of parliament.
This decision to adopt the direct primary for political parties in selecting their candidates for elections has generated mixed reactions from not only the lawmakers, but also different political parties and leaders of thoughts who spoke with THEWILL.
The direct primary, which was adopted by the Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in electing its gubernatorial candidate in the build-up to the 2019 general election, is a system in which all the registered members of a political party participate in the primary election to choose candidates for election. This is as opposed to indirect primary or the collegiate system in which voters choose delegates, who in turn choose the party’s candidates at a convention.
The indirect primary has been the most used system in Nigeria’s political history. However, criticism has trailed this system as it has always resulted in the highest bidder emerging as candidates for election.
Perhaps this was why the APC in 2018 gave its state chapters the option of using the direct or indirect primaries in choosing their candidates.
The adoption of both modes of primaries was what was also in the statutory book until the Senate and House of Representatives’ current decision to allow only the direct primary in choosing candidates for elections by political parties.
The implication of this new development is that if President Muhammadu Buhari assented to this clause, then political parties will have no choice other than to abide by the usage of the direct primary.
Analysts are quick to point out that most political parties may find this option very difficult because, except for the two major parties, PDP and APC, most other parties don’t even have registers of their members.
Another disadvantage, political analysts pointed out, is that the option of direct primaries, which will require elections in all wards, may require the kind of financial resources that most political parties may not be able to afford.
However, advocates of internal democracy believe the direct primary will afford every member of a political party the choosing to choose who will represent them in the election.
Speaking with THE WILL, a former presidential candidate of KOWA Party, Prof Remi Sonaiya, said “I am not sure that it is the Senate’s responsibility to determine how each political party will run its internal affairs. That should normally be the decision of the members.
“However, I believe that parties should have direct primaries, with each member’s vote counting. My party, KOWA Party, has always conducted its affairs in a democratic and transparent manner. Every member has an equal say in determining who the party’s candidate will be”.
Reacting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the Senate’s adoption of direct primary for the nomination of candidates for election in all political parties “as a retrogressive provision that seeks to wipe off all the gains achieved in our electoral practice since 1999.”
The party said, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, that the decision by the APC-controlled Senate is “a humongous blow to the development of democratic norms and a plot to introduce anarchy during internal party elections as currently obtainable in the APC.”
The statement read, “The PDP holds that the provision is aimed at increasing the costs of nomination procedures, thereby surrendering the processes to money bags against the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians.
“Our party makes bold to state that with the exception of the APC, which intends to deploy looted funds in future elections, hardly will there be any political party that will be able to raise the cost of conducting internal elections under a direct primary process. This is why the decision of the Senate has elicited widespread rejection from Nigerians across board.
“The PDP therefore urges the Senate to immediately deploy its appropriate legislative instruments to reverse itself on the direct primary as it is not operable and does not reflect the wishes and aspiration of majority of Nigerians.”
On its part, the All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is committed to and supports constitutionally-permitted innovations that will improve transparency and credibility of the country’s electioneering processes and internal democracy.
Sen. John Akpanudoedehe, National Secretary, APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee, gave the assurance in a statement.
This, according to him, is specifically with regards to the nomination of candidates of political parties.
“Accordingly, the sound bites from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be ignored in its entirety. PDP is only pretending to be an opposition political party.
“Meanwhile, the patriotic disposition of the multi-partisan 9th National Assembly should be commended.
“It is the right thing for the National Assembly to aggregate and consider the clamour by civil societies, interested stakeholders and indeed all Nigerians on all matters requiring legislation,” he said.
Akpanudoedehe added that in line with the party’s progressive mantra, the credibility of elections had continued to improve under the President Buhari-led APC government.
According to the APC scribe, valid votes now count and past practices of electoral fraud inflicted on Nigerians are fast becoming a thing of the past.
He said that at party level, the APC CECPC, under the leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni, had entrenched internal democracy.
This, he said, was especially in its nomination processes as recorded in recent and successful nationwide congresses conducted by the party.
He assured that the APC as a party and government would continue to stand for and support free, fair, transparent and credible elections across the country.
But despite what the senators described as their genuine intention to enthrone internal democracy, former Nigerian Ambassador, Dr Yemi Farounbi, in a chat with THE WILL, maintained that political parties should be allowed to decide on which method to use for electing their candidates.
“I believe that ordinarily, political parties should be left alone to decide on which method to use for selecting/electing candidates.
“This tendency to standardise and unifirmise political processes can stifle domestic and local initiative.
“It must be noted that even in the USA, the nomination processes vary from states to states. Some states use direct primary. Others use indirect primary.
There is no standardisation and uniformity.
“It will also be recalled that in the early days of the old SDP and NRC, direct primaries were used and abandoned. It was found to be expensive and its organisation complex and cumbersome.
“I recall that in 2018, a party used the direct primaries for electing its governorship candidate. The winning candidate had about 28,000 votes. But in the general election conducted by INEC, the candidate didn’t have up to 1,000 votes. One wondered where the party members who voted during the direct primary were. This is to say that the direct primary can be open to manipulation by party executives.
“My view is that the political parties should have the right to adopt whichever process they want. Yes. There’s need for internal democracy within the parties. Internal democracy cannot be enforced, but it must be encouraged to grow”.
Also speaking with THE WILL, the National Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr Tanko Yunusa, said the Senate was wrong in taking the decision.
“It should be left for the party to decide. All parties have no equal strength. You cannot direct all parties to adopt direct primary. Some of us have little resources.
“Indirect primary will be better for us. It is an infringement on the party’s rights. The Senate and House of Reps should have left it open and given parties the right to decide on the best of the two methods. This is an imposition by an APC- dominated National Assembly,” he said.
The National Coordinator of Democracy Vanguard, an organisation that promotes the principle of one person-one vote, Comrade Adeola Soetan, while speaking with THEWILL on the development, said he disagreed with the position of the Senate on the imposition of the direct primary on political parties.
He said, “The Senate can’t write law for political parties. I don’t agree with the Senate on this. It overreached itself by proclaiming that political parties should choose their candidates by direct primary only. This is an undemocratic and illegal control of political parties freely formed by citizens who have democratic rights to make the rules of engagement and conduct their primaries, according to the constitution of their parties, agreed and popularly adopted by the congress of the parties or any of their organs in line with the constitution of the parties.
“It is the duty of an election management bodies like the Independent National Electoral Commission, not the Senate to regulate and monitor how political parties conduct their primaries in line with their constitution.
Continuing, he said “The Senate, by this action, is indirectly writing the constitution of political parties, which is unacceptable. Democracy is a culture that evolves with experience and practice. The participation of members to collectively elect their candidates should not be decreed by undemocratic law. That is usurping the democratic rights to association and organisation of the members of the party.
“On the surface, the decision by the Senate looks good in view of the undemocratic and criminal practices of political godfathers and moneybags to own the party, imposed their candidates by manipulating party’s constitutional options of choosing candidates by direct primary or by delegates, which has been a threat to party’s internal democracy by bribing and imposing their hangers-on the party as delegates.
“But it is dangerous to use undemocratic laws to fight undemocratic practices by those notorious political bandit leaders who corrupt the democratic processes of their parties. You don’t straightjacket people into a cul de sac in multi-party democracy because of the undemocratic ownership and control of political parties like commercial parastatal.
“We should allow democratic culture to evolve for party members to confront their criminal leaders and moneybags. Some of these godfathers and paymasters are already facing such rebellion by their aggrieved members even from their imposed beneficiary godsons and daughters including many Senators who were imposed by godfathers.
“These criminal godfathers get away with the manipulation of party primaries because they control the leadership of these parties. Will the Senate make law against that too?”
Despite dissenting opinions, President Muhammadu Buhari will serve as final arbiter when he assents to the clause or refuse to assent to it.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
