With the conclusion of the 2011 general elections,
the Nigerian Union of Journalists has urged the Independent National
Electoral Commission to reduce the number of political parties in the
country.
Members of the union spoke to the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Umuahia and Abakaliki, the Abia
and Ebonyi States capitals respectively.
Section 78 (7i and ii) of the Electoral Act, 2010
(Amended) empowers INEC to de-register political parties that fail to
win a seat in an election. The Act also empowers the commission to
de-register parties which breached any of the registration
requirements.
“INEC should invoke the provisions of the Electoral Act and de-register these political parties.
“I will support the pruning or downsizing of
political parties in the country. Sixty-three political parties are too
many for our polity,” Ambrose Nwachukwu, the National Vice President of
the union (Zone `C’), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia.
Mr Nwachukwu attributed the large number of voided
votes to the fact that many people did not know which party was
contesting for what position.
He also said that geographical spread should no longer be a factor in the registration of parties in Nigeria.
“Most of these political parties which claim they have the spread and structure are not on ground,” Mr Nwachukwu noted.
According to him, the large number of parties
encourages indiscipline as party discipline and steadfastness are often
jettisoned because people can jump from one party to another without
sanctions.
A ploy against the opposition
In a separate interview, the Chairman Civil
Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Abia, Ifeanyi Onwuneme, supported the
call for the pruning of political parties in the country.
Mr Onwuneme said his organisation would identify with any cause that would move the country forward.
“If we must check the indiscipline among the political class, INEC should invoke the laws and do the right thing,” he said.
Also commenting, a lawyer, Sidney Onyemere,
claimed that the multiplicity of political parties was a ploy to muzzle
the opposition.
“A regime that allows multiple registration of
political parties does not mean well for Nigeria,” Mr Onyemere said.
He, however, said that it was unconstitutional to de-register any
political party.
Mr Onyemewre, therefore, called for the enactment
of a law to peg the number of political parties to four or five to grow
the nation’s democracy.
“The issue is not de-registration. You cannot
wake up to do it because the constitution granted the freedom to belong
to any political party,” he remarked. He further explained that the
provision of the Electoral Act cannot override the constitution.
In his view, Chukwuemeka Nnaukwu, a trader, said
Nigeria was not yet ripe for 63 political parties. “My illiterate
mother claimed she voted but could not say the party she voted for.”
Mr Nnaukwu suggested that the country should
either return to the former five political structures it had in 1979 or
the two party arrangements introduced by former head of state, Ibrahim
Babangida.
Similarly in Ebonyi, political stakeholders urged
INEC to de-register political parties that performed poorly during the
general elections.
Jerry Obasi, the Chairman of the Conference of
Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) in Ebonyi, also urged INEC to
de-register the parties that failed to field presidential candidates in
the last elections.
“The number of political parties in Nigeria
should be reduced to the barest minimum to consolidate on the gains of
the just-conducted elections.
“A situation where only 20 political parties
fielded presidential candidates in the last elections while others
endorsed candidates from other parties is not acceptable,” Mr Obasi
said.
Emenike Orji, the ANPP chairman in the state,
suggested a return to the two-party system practiced during the aborted
third republic.
“The performance of many of the political parties
in the last elections show that they are merely occupying the political
space in the country.
“They are also constituting unnecessary distractions to INEC,” Mr Orji said.
Goddy Okafor, the NUJ chairman in Ebonyi, advised
Nigerian politicians to put the interest of the nation’s democracy
above personal interests.
“Most of these non-functional parties are formed
for self-enriching purposes without any motive to contribute to the
political development of the country.
“They depend entirely on the Federal Government for sustenance and
do not bother to put the relevant political structures on ground,” Mr
Okafor said.
