It was the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu who on November 8, announced that the Commission had been joined as defendants in over 600 pre-election suits. These suits mostly arose from the political party primary elections conducted between May and June by over 20 registered political parties.
Mahmoud stated thus: “Only two weeks ago, one political party served about 70 court processes on the Commission in one day seeking to compel us to accept the nomination or substitution of its candidates long after the deadline provided in the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 General Election had elapsed. Some of the cases will go to the Supreme Court”.
Once a pre-election matter has been instituted to determine the proper flag bearer of a political party, the burden of determining the candidate of the party, shifts from the party delegates to the court. It is rather unfortunate that candidates to represent political parties are no longer decided in the field of play by the voice of the delegates but are decided by what the court says it is. It is really going to be a pitiable sight at the Supreme Court when these cases move all the way to the single Supreme Court of the land. All the 600 cases might not get to the Supreme Court, but at least, not less than 300 of the cases will flood their ways to the Supreme Court and the court will be forced to determine the appeals within 60 days of the filing.
Whatever the Supreme Court says becomes law. Whomever the Supreme Court recognizes as the party candidate becomes the flag bearer of the party irrespective of what had transpired at the party primary.
Gradually, the burden of determining party flag bearers has shifted from those either elected or selected delegates to Judges and Justices of the various courts. This trend is extremely dangerous to the survival of democracy and party politics and ought not to be allowed to flourish. With this rather unfortunate trend, winning a party primary election to become a flag bearer of a political party for an election is just the beginning of another round of battle to retain the ticket on behalf of the party. The final conferment now lies in the court once any concluded party primary is challenged. That was never the case in those old good days where there was internal party discipline. Political party leaders were real leaders that commanded respect. But leaders of today, majority of who were imposed on the parties, are more of parasites on the system than the leaders needed.
Since July, we have witnessed several judgments from the various courts, either giving full recognition to the party’s choice candidate, nullifying an election, disqualifying a candidate that was said to have won the primary election, recognizing a runner-up, or recognizing a parallel election conducted by the same party on a different date or location. This is why the burden of determining political party flag bearer has shifted from party delegates to Judges and Justices.
From the various pre-election judgments so far delivered, some of the strong indications from these primaries are as follows:
Political parties in Nigeria have woefully failed to conduct credible party primaries that are free and fair in the many of the primary elections conducted around the country due to greed and fear. Issues of over voting, selection of those to be delegates not through a free and fair contest, abuse of party guidelines, bias, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act have been prevalent leading to the cancellation of many of these party primary results.
Political parties conducted parallel primary elections in many states and are now left with the task of forcing the authenticity of their primaries through the court.
Political parties willfully substituted candidates who were duly elected at the primaries without their consent and in favor of their preferred candidates that in most cases are mere stooges prepared to run errands for the godfathers.
Some of the political parties did not even conduct their primaries but submitted names of preferred party loyalists that are mere robots. Party tickets and clean bill of health were just handed over to preferred candidates as flag bearers of the parties by murderers of the democracy masquerading as party leaders or whatever.
Political parties are desperately looking for a gateway into power, so are deploying everything within their arsenal by the hook or by the crook to ensure that a preferred lousy candidate is foisted on the party and extended to the electorates even if he/she cannot make it at the poll.
Political party chieftains have personal selfish interests that always manifest at primary election in support of a favored aspirant where it exists, more than one against the wish of delegates. In some cases, even those to serve as party delegates are selected based on loyalty to the whims and caprices of the party apparatchik and foisted on other party members for compulsory endorsement without a complaint or else, it is mischievously transformed to a case of anti-party.
Some political parties due to failure to do an in depth and proper screening of prospective candidates hurriedly nominate candidates that have questionable antecedents but with the required fund to finance the campaign and settle party leaders. Issues with falsification of credentials, age, results etc, and once these defects are noticed by opponents and allowed by the court, the party either loses the opportunity to present a candidate or is forced to conduct a fresh primary election or forced by the judgment to recognize the runner up in the primary as the right candidate irrespective of what might have transpired at the primary.
This trend is very unfortunate for the survival of true democracy, and it is seriously destroying the already choked and frightened political space in Nigeria. It is making a serious caricature of the activities of the political parties. However, on a broader view of this, the actions of the political parties shows the level of decadence and desperation in our political system and it would be difficult, if not impossible to purge the political space of this pollution and abracadabra. A candidate might have won the party primary election but by virtue of disqualification or failure to carry out a certain function as required by the applicable rules, the victory of the candidate is either nullified and his ticket given to the runner up or the party is completely barred from contesting in the election.
This situation has rendered the court as the party delegate and not the elected or selected delegate that attended the primary to cast a vote.
To curb this trend, the duty is 100 percent on the shoulders of the leadership of the political parties and no one else.
The ultimate requirement of impartiality, level playing ground, integrity, sincerity, honesty of purpose, and fairness should be the bane of political parties in Nigeria. Until party officials deploy this to the conduct of their elections and run away from greed and other corrupt practices, Judges and Justices would continue to remain as the ultimate party delegates. The most common suit in various courts is the substitution of candidates without their knowledge and consent. This shows the insincerity and bias for a preferred aspirant by party leadership that creates litigation. This undemocratic and ungodly practice should either stop or the democracy may continue to suffer and create unpleasant situations including security challenges by the shortchanged.
Screening of nominees by political parties should be taken seriously and must exclude bribery and corruption. Every lacuna should be covered to ensure that rivals do not take advantage of the unidentified small loopholes to destroy the survival of the parties. Any candidate with strong defects to his qualification should not be allowed to participate or even near the party primary.
On the side of the courts and the pressure that comes with political cases, the relevant laws should be amended to allow the commencement and determination of primary elections cases in State and Federal High Courts to reduce the burden placed on the Federal High Courts or a Special Court be established to attend to all political cases at all times.
In 2022, all pre-election matters were instituted at the Federal High Courts to the exclusion of the State High Courts that shows some elements of mistrust of the State High Courts to handle such cases and deliver neutral judgments. I was of recent privileged to be in one of the Federal High Courts located in one of the states of the federation and one of the judges that I met, was complaining bitterly as how he had to write not less than 20 judgments and all must be delivered within the specified timeframe of two weeks as the required 180 days was set to elapse within those two weeks. The burden can be shared across the various States and the Federal High Courts for quick disposal of such periodic cases.
Furthermore, there is an urgent need to further amend the 1999 Constitution in respect of political party primaries elections beginning right from the composition of delegates, purchase of nomination forms etc. Appeals arising from party primary election cases should not enjoy a right of appeal all the way to the Supreme Court just as it is applicable for post-election cases. In post-election cases for example, appeals from all election tribunals terminate at the Court of Appeal, except for the governorship elections that start at the tribunal through to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court. The Presidential Election Tribunal starts from the Court of Appeal and ends at the Supreme Court. So as it stands, it is only governorship elections that enjoy the privilege of being heard at three different stages of the courts. This same rule should also apply to pre-election suits to reduce the burden on the Supreme Court.
Our Judges and Justices are not political party delegates and are apolitical. Judges and Justices should not be the determining factor in political party internal affairs if the right thing is always done. Conventionally, victory at any party primary election should be determined by consensus, delegates elected through due process and backed by party rules. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine!
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
