2019: What fate awaits smaller parties?

Since 1999, not more than five political parties have dominated the political space and won elections into elective positions. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE writes on the fate that may befall the fringe parties in next year’s election.

No fewer than 73 political parties will take part in next year’s elections. Most of the parties are not very strong and may not make much impact.

Analysts say the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ALL Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP) and few others are the parties to watch in 2019.

The smaller parties – the Coalition for Change (C4C), Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN), Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA), Modern Democratic Party (MDP), National Interest Party (NIP), National Rescue Mission (NRM), New Progressive Mission (NPM), Nigeria Democratic Congress Party (NDCP), Peoples Alliance for Development and Liberty (PANDEL) and Providence People Congress (PPC) are simply there to add to the number.

Other parties which are there for the showmanship are Rebuild Nigeria Party (RBNP), All Grassroots Alliance (AGA), Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), Restoration Party of Nigeria (RP), Sustainable National Party (SNP), Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) etc.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) records indicate over 80 parties have applied for registration. Observers say the trend would make the elections cumbersome at the expense of the tax payers’ money.

They noted that most of the parties joined the fray to gain recognition. The sponsors are aware that they cannot win elective positions but are hanging on to use the platform to bargain.

Many candidates put forward for the polls do not have the capacity or weight to win the positions they are vying for. Some of them are contesting for the presidency, senate and governor without the prerequisite experience or record to show they can deliver.

The conduct of the parties explains their ineptitude and misplaced priority in their  quest to be relevant in 2019. They have either endorsed candidates of the major parties.

Some of the candidates have not made their manifestoes known to the electorate.

Serious parties have been reaching out to the voter. Some of them like the APC has started its door-to-door campaign on the party’s mission for 2019.

According to Afenifere Publicity Secretary Mr. Yinka Odumakin, some of the parties came up to make some impressions.

He said the enormous resources required to win election in the country compounded the problem for smaller parties.

“There are 119,000 poling units in Nigeria. You need no fewer than 180,000 agents for such election. And even if you have to give the agents just N2000 that would mean spending heavy amount of money.

“The Nigeria election process as it is now makes the process difficult for the smaller parties. So, for them to win election it will not be easy. The parties are simply out to make some point and not really to win elections.”

Odumakin however, said INEC cannot stop them because, there are laws which guarantee their registration. He explained that as long as the bye laws that spelt out the registration process are met by parties seeking registration, the commission will continue to register them.

According to Lagos State APC chieftain Fuad Oki, there is no political party in Nigeria that has measured to the minimum standard required for a party.

He said there are 11 minimum requirements, which are the prerequisites for political associations to be called political parties. He added that INEC had rolled out the condition in 2015 as guidelines for the parties to conduct their primaries.

He said the conditions included internal democracy, adding that no party in Nigeria at present complied with INEC specification.

The politician maintained that party finances are key issues, noting that most of the parties have not mapped out how to generate their finances. He explained that no party had made it compulsory for its members to be financially contributing to up keep of the party.

This, according to him would deny the parties its sources of fund, making the existence very difficult or sustainable.

An observer, Neville Obakhedo believes that most of the parties have no ideology. They said this is mainly responsible for the high rate of cross-carpeting among political parties.

According to him, it puts the life span of the smaller parties at risk.

Obakhedo said: “We must try to help the country by ensuring that political parties are established on ideologies. This will reduced the incidences of moving from one party to another on a flimsy excuses. Parties should evolve ideal of welfarism, economic autonomy which we call conservative.

“Parties can be formed on ideals of social inclusiveness which some call the party to the  right.I want to say that any party that tries to use ideology as its selling point is beginning to make inroad.

“Whether the fringe parties will make impact in 2019? This depends on how the country practices its democracy. Nigeria democratic process has come a long way, we have moved away from being a licence democracy to an emerging democracy.

Read also: Revenue leakages from MDAs affecting payment of salaries, says Dogara

“By 2019 and hopefully, we would have become an emergent democratic nation. This is because we have taken the course, we have made the choice. The country has advanced in the course of the democratic process. So, we are ready to hit the ground,” Oki said.

The National Chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okories, said the terrain is much difficult for the smaller parties because they lack the means of self sufficiency.

“There is no doubt that the multi party system has not really been easy to run in the country, particularly when you have these parties struggling to be relevant. The activities of the major party parties have not been helpful as well because, the smaller parties have been emasculated due to operation of the parties.

“Again, because the law has made it compelling for the political parties to register parties. There is nothing anybody can do to prevent their emergence. Though, there is a new law which will trim down the increase of parties but that cannot work now until it is passed.

“The position is that if any party fails to win a seat, the party will be de-registered, but now that has not being signed. The parties would have to be accommodated and if anything must be done it can only see the light in 2023. That is when the proliferation of parties can stop, until then they have to be accommodated now.”