BY AUGUSTINE AVWODE
Last Tuesday’s passage of the harmonized version of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, by the Senate after consideration of the report of the Conference Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on the bill, did not put to rest the controversies and disagreements that have dogged certain sections of the Bill.
The Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, is meant to repeal the Electoral Act No.6, 2010 and birth a new Electoral Act 2021, once it is assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari. And it will regulate the conduct of Federal, States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils elections in the country.
The Bill had generated lots of controversies. First was the transmission of election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission. And then the mode of election to be adopted by various parties in choosing their candidates for elective positions. Whereas the former has now been largely rested after the harmonized version empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission to determine the mode it wishes to adopt in the conduct of elections in the country. The latter, however, has assumed even more controversial status as lawmakers, political parties and the executive are canvassing position they think is the more appropriate to be adopted.
Importantly, the President now holds all the aces as whatever he feels is right could determine what happens to it. In 2018, Buhari had withheld his assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill passed by the 8th National Assembly, claiming it was coming too close to the 2019 general election. He had written in a letter to the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara that he was withholding his assent because he was “concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general elections which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process. Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process”.
This time around, there seems to be ample time still available to the President to look at the Bill and probably assent it or withhold assent.
The need to harmonise the positions of the Senate and the House of Reps on the Bill led both chambers to name members of a Conference Committee.
On Wednesday, September 22, the Senate named its Conference Committee on the Electoral Act Amendments Bill. Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, who announced this during plenary, said that the conference committee would work with that of the House of Representatives in order to be on the same page on sensitive provisions of the Bill. He then named, Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, APC, Kebbi North as team leader. Other members were Senators Kabiru Gaya, APC, Kano South to represent North West; Danjuma Goje, APC, Gombe Central for North East; Uche Ekwunife, PDP, Anambra Central for South East; Sani Mohammed Musa, APC, Niger East for North Central; Ajibola Basiru, APC, Osun Central for South West and Matthew Urhoghide, PDP, Edo South.
On Tuesday, September 28, Speaker of the House, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila named seven members for the assignment. They were Reps Akeem Adeyemi as the Chairman, James Faleke, Chris Azubogu, Abdullahi Kalambaine, Blessing Onuh, Aisha Dukku, and Unyime Idem.
While adopting the conference committee report on Tuesday, the Senate approved the re-amended clauses to provide for direct primaries for aspirants to all elective positions. It also empowered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Clause 63 to determine the procedure for voting and transmission of results during an election.
However, the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, immediately announced its rejection of the harmonised Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill. It argued that no party has the right to impose its processes on another.
A statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said it is the inalienable right of each political party to decide the processes of nominating its candidates for elections at any level.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has received the news of the passage of the harmonized electoral act amendment bill, which among other things, provided for direct primaries for nomination of candidates for elections by political parties.
“Our party holds that it is the inalienable right of each political party, within the context of our constitutional democracy, to decide its form of internal democratic practices including the processes of nominating its candidates for elections at any level.
“The PDP also believes that no political party should force its own processes on any other political party as the direct primaries amendment, a practice of the All Progressives Congress (APC), sought to achieve.
“Having stated this, the PDP shall, within the next 48 hours, make its final decision in respect of this amendment known.”
Ironically, the opposition PDP found a ready ally in the ruling All Progressives Congress governors who have also rejected the clause.
The Governors, under the aegis of Progressive Governors’ Forum, met in Abuja and vehemently rejected the direct primary model.
Chairman of the Forum, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, said the National Assembly’s decision was nothing but a usurpation of the duties of the political parties.
“Our party holds that it is the inalienable right of each political party, within the context of our constitutional democracy, to decide its form of internal democratic practices including the processes of nominating its candidates for elections at any level
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Bagudu said the forum resolved that the mode of the emergence of party candidates should be the prerogative of the political parties and not an issue in the Electoral Act.
Bagudu further argued that in the face of present economic realities, the direct primary would be too cumbersome, unwieldy and overstretch the limited resources of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is mandated to oversee primaries conducted by political parties.
“There have been concerns that political parties are voluntary organisations, and our concern is that once you limit the abilities of parties to choose options that they so desire, that may even be arguably undemocratic because noting stops one party from adopting one or the other.
“Direct primary involves of necessity, supervisory role by INEC, at multiple levels, at multiple points, so you can imagine that if political parties are doing their primary, by direct primary, INEC resources will be overstretched and I think the chairman of INEC had even commented on that, so, whether the legislation has incorporated the financial implications, I don’t know yet.”
The position of the PGF triggered a tripartite meeting of the ruling APC with the Executive, the Legislature and the Party all involved and Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, as chairman of the meeting in Abuja last week.
Feelers from the meeting indicated that Osinbajo deftly steered the meeting in the direction of a consensus and need to present a united front even as the next round of election looms but certainly no clear-cut agreement was arrived at.
The Senate’s decision to jettison its earlier clause, where it gave political parties the option of direct and indirect primaries as a mode of selecting candidates for general elections, and has now restricted political parties to only the direct primary, has been described as a blight on an otherwise good job.
A chieftain of the APC in Lagos, who pleaded not to be named said, “The direct primary, given our peculiar situation, will at best be a voodoo system. Can any of the parties boast of an authentic and comprehensive register of members? That is the crux of the matter. Who is a member of the APC in Lagos? All the agberos in Oshodi, Iyana Ipaja, Mushin, Mile 2 and Okokomaiko, abi? They know what they are doing.
“This system, it would seem, is being bankrolled by the rich and big men in the party. We all know that once you are able to gathered 50 people in a spot you can go and announce 500 people. Is that not it? In Anambra, 230,000 voted for Uba during the primary, so where did they vanish into during the election? I tell you, the elite in this country is our problem. Some people are engineering this for their selfish ends. When you argue that it will help you to return the party to the people, is it not true that the people are always there for manipulation? Those bogus claims should not be used to deceive the people just to make some peoples ambition easier. Parties should be left alone to decide which mode of selection suits them. Direct, indirect or consensus,” he argued.
The argument against the direct primary has been majorly hinged on the cost of conducting it, the fact that parties have no verifiable register, the ease with which it can be manipulated through inflation of figures and how the electoral umpire can cope with multiple direct primaries of different parties on the same day, should it happen.
Those who clamour for indirect primary argue that it makes planning concise and you know the number of delegates to plan for. The most compelling argument, however, is the fact that prescribing any mode to be adopted by political parties for what is entirely an internal affair, robs them of the legitimacy to decide and determine how such parties should be run and amounts to usurpation of the authorities and powers of the executives of the parties.
On the other hand, proponents of direct primary harp on the need for the people to own the party. They argue that it is best for the individual members to participate and pick the candidate of their choice and follow the same through to the election. They contend that the indirect primary is susceptible to abuse and corruption
The indirect primary has been the most used system in Nigeria’s political history. However, criticisms have trailed this system as it has always resulted in the ‘highest bidder’ emerging as candidates for elections.
In 2018, the APC empowered its state chapters to adopt any of direct or indirect primaries in choosing their candidates as long as it suits them.
Before last Tuesday’s passage of the Bill, both modes of primaries were what was in the statutory books of the leading two parties.
“The problem with direct primaries is the abuse to which it has been subjected in this country. Like fictitious figures. You can see now in Anambra, over 300,000 nominated somebody, yet, he couldn’t muster 50,00 votes in the real election. So what happened?
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Speaking to The Point, Anslem Ojezua, lawyer and chieftain of Edo PDP, who was the former Edo State chairman of the APC until he defected with Governor Godwin Obaseki to PDP, said the direct primary was the best and to be preferred.
“The truth about it is that direct primary is the best form of democratic practice because that is what affords every member the right and opportunity to choose. What is the point of asking people to choose on your behalf, people who don’t even know what your choices are?
“The problem with direct primaries is the abuse to which it has been subjected in this country. Like fictitious figures. You can see now in Anambra, over 300,000 nominated somebody, yet, he couldn’t muster 50,000 votes in the real election. So what happened? The truth is the process must be guaranteed, starting from a credible membership register, once you have a credible membership register and a proper accreditation is done, then direct primary becomes the best way to choose a party’s candidate.”
Ojezua vehemently disagreed that what happened in the Senate last week was a demonstration of what people often called the tyranny of the majority. In fact, he rejected the notion.
“No, no, no, the majority can never be tyrants because democracy is about the wishes of the majority of the people. Tyranny comes when a minority decides to superimpose its will over a majority. The majority can never be tyrants; in fact, the quest is to identify the will of the majority. Rightly or wrongly, it’s their choice. You cannot deny them, that is why it is called inalienable rights. It cannot be transferred to anybody like they are doing now, saying they are delegates, who did they consult with? Then they will go and trade with it in that place and make their choices anyway,” Ojezua argued rather passionately.
Martin Onovo, an engineer and 2015 Presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, while casting his vote for parties to be allowed to decide what mode to employ, however, suggested other areas that the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, ought to also focus on.
He told The Point that “If we agree that corruption is cancer and that it is endemic, then we must mitigate corruption decisively. To mitigate corruption decisively, we must understand the key drivers and eliminate or mitigate them.
“The cost of campaigning and the source of campaign funds are some of the confirmed drivers for corruption in Nigeria. Therefore, it may be expedient to mitigate the cost of campaigns; enforce campaign finance limits and then, disqualify and prosecute any candidates that use slush funds or State facilities.
“Indirect primary elections are the prevalent practice presently and we have been used to that since 1999. They also naturally cost less and are less complex and so easier to prevent manipulations. Our opinion is that parties should independently decide what mode of primary elections they prefer,” Onovo said.
For both proponents of direct and indirect methods, their fate lies in the hands of President Buhari and of course, time. Should the Senate delay the transmission to the President, opponents of direct primary may still have the opportunity to mount pressure on a review of the provision. And, should Senate decides to forward the same to President Buhari at this moment, it will be left for him to assent or refuse. Whatever the case, President Buhari holds all the aces as the search for common ground between contending parties continues.
