The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has frowned at attempt by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to de-register non-performing political parties in Nigeria.
No fewer than 91 political parties are registered in Nigeria; half of those numbers were registered just before the commencement of the 2019 general election.
However, a dismal 12 out of the 91 registered won elections into the various positions that were contested for in the just-concluded general elections.
An unprecedented 73 parties contested the presidential elections, while almost all the 91 parties fielded candidates in the governorship, national and states assembly polls.
In recent months, the poor performance of the parties in the general election has prompted clamour by stakeholders for INEC to deregister some of the parties ahead of the 2023 general election.
They advocated for a constitutional amendment and review of the requirements for the registering of political parties.
But speaking in an interview with BusinessDay, Monday, the national chairman of the ADP, Sanni Yabagi queried the criteria the commission intends using to deregister the non-performing parties.
Some stakeholders have equally sought constitutional amendment to de-register weak political parties and review the requirements for registering political parties.
Sanni said the constitution which was supreme in the country was silent on deregistering of political parties, stressing that the procedure for deregistration of non-performing parties was not well spelt out in the Electoral Act.
According to him, “I want to expect that the political parties would to go to court to challenge INEC on any attempt to delisting them; it is the court that would interpret if INEC has the power to delist political parties.
“The constitution did not say INEC should deregister non performing political party, it is only the Electoral Act which is an act of parliament, but I think the question is what modality would be adopted; it must be open for all to see,” Yabagi said.
He, however, admitted that there must be a mechanism to check non-performing political parties, but added that it must be within the law.
He advocated for a complete overhaul of the nation’s electoral system ahead of the 2023 elections to guarantee free and elections, saying that the registration of political parties must be handled with care.
“I am not saying there should not be mechanism by INEC to check some of the non-performing parties, INEC registered them in the first place and they make it an all-comers affair which should not be.
“We have to sit down and decide the kind of system we want before the next general election, there as to be an overhaul,” he added.
Festus Okoye, INEC’s national commissioner, recently lamented the large number of parties which took part in the 2019 elections, stressing that the large number affected the commission’s performance adversely and made its work herculean.
Iniobong Iwok
