INEC’s de-registration axe dangles over failing political parties

Indications have emerged that many of the registered political parties in Nigeria face grim prospects of being de-registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following perceived poor performance during the 2019 general elections and inability to meet the requirements of the law concerning elections.

During the 2019 electioneering, the political parties jockeying for positions were at the thick of the exercise canvassing for votes most with highfalutin manifestos that sometimes appear confusing.

But months after the general elections, the 91 registered political parties and the 71 parties that participated in the polls by fielding candidates are practically out of the political space leaving the turf for the two dominant parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) tearing at each other over government policies. The Action Democratic Party (ADP) appears to be the only party outside the big two, which still maintains a consistent interrogation of government policies and making pronouncements on the state of the nation.

BDSUNDAY gathered from a source that INEC may have concluded plans to deregister some of the parties following woeful performance of the parties during the polls and their inability to meet the requirements of the Electoral Act on issues of elections.

“This move is necessary to reduce the parties to a manageable number and also save cost of printing electoral materials in coming elections. It will also reduce the confusion caused the electorate during the last elections,’’ the source said.

“During elections, parties canvass for votes but after elections those parties which lose elections form the opposition to put the ruling party on its toes to deliver the dividends of democracy. They voice different views and criticise the government for their failures and mobilise opposition to the government. They form veritable tools that shape public opinion and with the help of the pressure groups, the parties launch movements for solving problems faced by the people,” a source said.

This is hardly the case with the current parties as most have gone into political limbo and waiting perhaps for the next round of elections. Nigeria is beset with disturbing level of insecurity, social dislocation, disunity, economic crisis and high level of unemployment. These are the issues that the parties are supposed to discuss and mobilise Nigerians to interrogate the policies of government towards these issues. The parties’ according to the source are “missing in action.”

INEC has the power to register political parties and outline the procedure for such
registration. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution provides for the Right to Freedom of Assembly as
well as the right to form or join a Political Party. The Constitution also stipulates provisions
on the formation of such groups in Sections 221 – 229 while the Electoral Act in Sections
78 – 102 contains provisions and regulations on Political Parties.

Section 78 of Electoral Act as amended “(7a) also provides the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to deregister political parties on the following
grounds- (i) breach of any of the requirements for registration, and (ii) for failure to win Presidential or Governorship election or a seat in the National Assembly).
INEC has powers to also de-register political parties on the following grounds:
Breach of any of the requirements for registration; and ~ Section 78(7a); Failure to win at least twenty five percent of votes cast in one State of the Federation in a Presidential election; or one Local Government of the State in a Governorship election.

INEC is further empowered to deregister political parties based on failure to win at least one ward in the Chairmanship election; one seat in the National or State House of Assembly election; or one seat in the Councillorship election.

From the foregoing therefore the Electoral Commission has the power to cut the number of parties as many of them never participated in the last elections and those who did many won nothing and therefore failed to meet the requirements.

However, speaking to BDSUNDAY on Friday, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Lawrence Oyenkanmi, said the commission is not nursing any intention to deregister parties.

“When we make a decision we will publish a statement of what we want to do. This sort of decision cannot be taken by one person, we will have to consider the pros and cons, the evidences and take a decision. But so far, the commission has not done that. So I don’t want to preempt what the commission will do I think we should wait when the commission takes a decision on that it will be made public,” he said.

He noted that the commission organises quarterly meetings with stakeholders including political parties to discuss issues.

Also speaking on Friday, presidential candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the last election, Yusuf Yabagi Sani, said “some of the parties are formed just for the purpose of participating in elections and once the elections are over, they just go back to their businesses and wait for another round of elections.”

Sani, who is also the National Chairman of the ADP, said the party came on board not just for the sake of participating in election but to deepen democracy as a matter of deliberate action by citizens of this country. “If we don’t get the parties right there is no way we can get the issues of unity of this country and economic development right. We must take serious steps to ensure that we deepen this democracy, enhance it, nurture it, not only during elections election is just one process of forming government.”

He noted that public discourse on what is wrong with the country and how to correct it should be on continuous basis. He added that politics is a serious business and should not be reduced to commercial and mercantile enterprise by those who join politics to make money.

Sani noted that it might be a noble idea if INEC wishes to de-register parties. He however, charged the electoral commission to go beyond that and look at the attitude of Nigerians, especially those who win election in one party and defect to another with the mandate. He said that some of the parties INEC may want to de-register have won elections before but the candidates took the mandate to other parties. He charged the commission to address these issues before it can think about de-registering parties.

The axe of de-registration appears to be dangling on non-performing political parties but how and when the electoral commission will carry this out is yet not certain.

Innocent Odoh, Abuja