By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has condemned the glaring lack of internal democracy among some political parties ahead of the 2015 general election.
In a paper he presented at the All Nigeria Political Parties And Political Stakeholders Summit in Abuja, Jega also expressed worry over lack of moderation among politicians, in their utterances.
In the paper, the INEC boss lamented about the increasing difficulty by the political parties to select candidates to contest on their platforms, adding that the use of language by politicians, which in most cases was indecorous, tended to lead supporters to follow suit with intemperate language, thereby leading to violence.
He also lamented that the parties found it difficult to select candidates, thereby creating a situation where practically every party nomination process ended in a court case.
He attributed the inability of the political parties to select candidates and to amicably resolve issues therefrom to the satisfaction of all their members to lack of internal party democracy, which stems from lack of commitment to party rules.
The INEC Chairman further outlined some of the measures that needed to be taken to overcome the challenges that undermined inter-party collaboration and co-operation in Nigeria.
According to him, there is need to improve the functioning of the Interparty Advisory Council (IPAC) to ensure full commitment of all parties to the Council and the Code of Conduct.
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