BY GLORIA USMAN, ABUJA – The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, a coalition of over 70 Civil Society Organisation (CSO), has declared that the outrageous numbers bandied by one of the major political parties as figures for electing its Presidential Candidate is very worrying.
This is just as the CSOs scored the recently concluded party primaries in Nigeria low and below democratic standards.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the Convener of the group, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, said the exceedingly inflated number of millions of votes announced for the affirmation of the party’s presidential candidate had no basis in facts or reality.
He expressed concern over the political parties’ conduct of their primaries to pick candidates for the 2019 election and the general electoral environment.
Nwankwo said the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room upon a review of the conduct of the candidate selection process of the various political parties in the country, noted that the process fell far below democratic standards.
The CSOs advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to remain resolute in applying the rules and its decisions to reject lists from parties which failed to conduct party primaries and adhered to timely submission.
According to him; “The Situation Room is concerned that parties failed to comply with the spirit and letter of electoral laws and the Constitution, consequently also failing to strengthen the democratic space for inclusivity.
“They also failed to include participation by their members and citizens in choosing candidates for elections.
“The Situation Room is also deeply concerned about the brazen disregard of democratic principles by most of the political parties”
Nwankwo also said that media reports and observation by CSOs across the country showed that the political party primaries process was characterised by vote buying, intimidation, imposition of candidates and violence.
He noted that that some of the major parties conducted their primaries in ways that raised significant credibility questions, including the use of money.
In his words; “Our summation is that most of the party primaries were merely a sham. Across the political parties, women have been complaining about how the process undermined their prospects of competing on level grounds.
“There were allegations of intimidation and hostility against some female candidates. The fact that there was no progressive affirmative action for women in political parties is worrying.”
Nwankwo further said that political parties in Nigeria continued to pose significant challenges to the consolidation of democracy in the country, adding that by their actions in the primaries, the parties had shown scant regard for process or respect for the electorate.
He observed that the lack of the democratic process in nominating candidates impacted on the choices people had on Election Day, adding that the development could create tension in the country and diminish faith in the democratic process.
According to him; “The list of assassinations and violent attacks following the primaries was also a clear indication that the process was fundamentally flawed. We call on political parties to respect their internal processes, provide avenue for credible redress of grievances after the primaries and commit to free, fair and credible elections in February 2019.
Nwankwo urged Nigerians to judge the political parties by their commitment to law and order especially in their internal party affairs, saying that the primaries of the parties provided a good opportunity for INEC to reinforce its credibility and dedication to applying rules.
