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TOO MANY POLITICAL PARTIES IN NIGERIA MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS IN 2019… Says INEC


INEC says too many political parties in Nigeria may cause problems in 2019
In Nigeria, there is an incentive to form one as all political parties get N60 million funding support of INEC.

Nigeria’s electoral body has declared that increasing number of political parties in the country may pose challenges in the 2019 general elections.

An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Bolade Eyinla, said this on Monday, January 29, 2018, in Abuja. Prof. Eyinla was representing the INEC Chairman at a retreat by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).

Eyinla hinted that there are over 100 political associations currently seeking to be registered as a political party. This is despite the fact that they are already 68 registered political parties in the country.

“Currently there are 68 registered political parties in Nigeria. As of today, there are more than100 associations that have applied to INEC to register as political parties. This raises a number of questions which we want this retreat to address,” he said.

“We are also going to be challenged if these 68 political parties and counting continue this way. We are just a commission. I cannot begin to imagine even as the technical adviser, how we will divide ourselves to monitor party conventions and primaries of 68 political parties across the length and breadth of this country.”

Challenges on how the body would be able to monitor congresses, conventions and primaries of all parties stir us INEC) in the face.


Why there are so many political parties

According to Nigeria's Electoral Act, any association of persons can register as a political party, if it meets the criteria. More so, all political parties in Nigeria are entitled to an annual support funding of N60 million ($196,078) from the commission.

Since funding seems not to be a problem, political association finds it convenient to be a political party in Nigeria.

“Already we have envisaged some of these challenges and we are coming up with strategies to deal with them in our election project plan.

“Ancillary to this is the fact that political party agents will also increase. I can imagine 68 political party agents in a polling unit. I think these are issues that we have to manage; but most importantly, how do we manage the ballot for 68 political parties?” Eyinla queried.

Anywhere in the world this obtainable

Afghanistan is the only country with such huge number of political blocs seeking elective positions. This is because there is currently no political party or association in the country. Thus, individuals are allowed to engage in elections.

“I think perhaps one of the largest ballots that I have seen is that of Afghanistan where the ballot paper is nearly the size of a prayer mat.

“Given our level of literacy, I think that is going to be a major challenge and as we know, the question of exclusion is a major issue in the electoral process.

“The chairman was literally sleeping and waking with the ballot for Anambra State election to ensure that no party was excluded; to ensure that the names and logo of the parties were correct because any slip could nullify the election. So, I think there is a challenge with managing the ballot that will come with the increasing number of political parties.”

Eyinla urged the National Assembly to make necessary amends to the electoral act in this respect before July 2018. He said doing anything in less than six months to the elections would contravene ECOWAS’s protocol on democracy.




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