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.
Comments
Post a Comment