From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

When the National Assembly resumes plenary on November 9, one of the urgent issues it will address is the adoption of the conference report on the Electoral Act Amendment bill. Thereafter, the bill, which has generated so much interest in the polity will be sent to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.

Key provisions of the proposed electoral law, which has generated so much interest in the polity, is the issue of electronic transmission of result and adoption of direct primaries for nomination of  political party candidates for various elections.

The Electoral Act Amendment Bill had made the use of direct primary for nomination of candidates optional.  Section 87 of the bill “ titled “Nomination of Candidates by Parties” had originally stipulated thus: “(1) A political Party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this bill shall hold direct or indirect primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which may be monitored by the commission.

“(2) The procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for the various elective positions shall be by direct or indirect primaries.”

Regardless, during the consideration of the report of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila had proposed the removal of “or indirect” in  sub-clause (1). The amendment, which was subjected to vote was approved by the House.

Gbajabiamila had said, “I will seek an amendment to Section 87. Section 87 provides for either indirect or direct primary. In the true ethos of democracy, I would like to amend Section 87 to delete indirect and make direct primary mandatory.”

The Senate was to later concur with the House on the mandatory use of direct primaries for the nomination of candidates of political parties for various elections. Nevertheless, the issue had generated diverse reaction in the polity.

Under the present Electoral Act, which the National Assembly is seeking to amend, political parties are at liberty to decide the mode of selecting their candidates for various elections. 

While the All Progressives Congress (APC) use both the direct and indirect primary to select their candidates, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) and the other political parties have utilized the indirect primary in choosing their candidates.

Essentially, direct primaries ensure that all registered members of political parties participate directly in the election of candidates for elective positions, the indirect primaries involves party members selecting delegates, who will choose the party candidates for various elective offices.

Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, noted that the idea of direct primaries was first mooted in 2010.  However, Ekweremadu, who spoke during a television programme,   explained that the issue was shelved because the government felt political parties did not have reliable party register.

According to him, “we created section 87 and stated that Nigerian should conduct primary through direct means. When we passed it in 2009, the government of the day felt that we do not have a reliable  party register.

“So, it will be difficult for a party to conduct direct primary, since they don’t have any form of reliable kind of register. We were asked to take it off. But instead of taking it off, we decided  to redraft section 87 (1)to say that parties can either do direct primaries or indirect primaries.”

What does the adoption of direct primaries for nomination of candidates for elective positions portend for Nigeria’s democracy?   

A school of thought argues that direct primaries will make the nomination of party candidates more transparent and help to check god-fatherism, as well as enhance internal democracy. However, another school of thought, including the opposition believes that it will weaken democracy.

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Nevertheless, the PDP, in its immediate reaction to adoption of direct primaries for nomination of party candidates had described it as retrogressive.

The PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, noted that making direct primaries compulsory in the new electoral law will allegedly erode all the gains made in the electoral process since 1999.

According to him, “the decision by the APC-controlled Senate is a humongous blow to the development of democratic norms and a plot to introduce anarchy during internal party elections as currently obtainable in the APC.

“The PDP holds that the provision is aimed at increasing the costs of nomination procedures thereby surrendering the processes to money bags against the wishes and aspiration of Nigerians.

“Our party makes bold to state that with the exception of the APC, which intends to deploy looted funds in future election, hardly will there be any political party that will be able to raise the cost of conducting internal elections under a direct primary process.”

Nevertheless, a member of the PDP, who does not want his name mentioned, told Daily Sun that the use of direct primaries to choose candidates for elective offices will give power to the  people at the grassroots to decide party candidates.

He said direct primaries will also eliminate the corruption associated with the delegate system.

“It will stop corruption that is endemic in the delegate system. The delegate system is corruption prone and it creates a lot of bad blood in the party.

“Direct primary is a welcome development. It will enhance the growth of democracy. It will energise the base of the party and make the people at the grassroots to participate, actively in selecting the candidate of the party.”

Amidst speculations that the inclusion of direct primary in the proposed electoral law is targeted at state governors, the House said it acted in the interest of the country.

The chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, in a statement noted that the position of the House, which the Senate concurred with is in line with the aspirations of Nigerians.

Kalu said: “a popular yearning of Nigerians in the electoral reform process was the call to discard the delegate-based primary election method in favour of direct primaries.

“Following extensive stakeholder consultations and engagements on electoral reforms, it is clear to the leadership of the House that the delegate-based primary election method is not only unpopular, but is inefficient in producing credible candidates.”

He added “Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila’s contribution to the amendment of Clause 87 of the Electoral Act is reflective of the agitations of the people. The House wishes to remind all political players that direct primaries is in the best interest of our democratic advancement as a nation.

“The conduct of party elections by direct primary remains the most transparent mode of nominating a candidate in any election. It marks a true return of power to the people. It is more participatory, creating a level playing ground for all aspirants and allowing the emergence of popular candidates. Direct primaries will increase the participation of women and youth in the political process.  It will help check god-fatherism, enhance intra-party democracy and reduce the commercialization of elections in Nigeria.”

Ekweremadu says since the APC has used the direct primary and it worked for them, “ what we need to do is to set up machinery that will make sure it works for everybody. My position has been that if we are going to do direct primaries, we need to make sure that each party is able to do membership register that will be electronically verifiable.”