By Ali Abubakar
The recently concluded party primaries conducted by political parties ahead of the 2015 general elections, particularly those conducted by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Change (APC) were supposedly carried out in fulfilment of the Electoral Act 2010 (As amended) which stipulates in Section 87 the procedure through which candidates should emerge democratically. However, the outcry that greeted the primaries, especially those conducted by the PDP, has left many to believe that the process of picking candidates for the next election was far from satisfactory, rather the entire exercise was marred by intimidation of candidates and delegates who were forced to do the bidding of the powers that be in some instances and in others, outright imposition of candidates.
In sharp contrast, the primaries conducted by the APC across the states, culminating in the national convention that saw the emergence of General Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate, have been hailed even by ardent critics of the party. For many, the APC primaries were a total break from the past and a clear manifestation of what internal party democracy is. The self acclaimed largest party in Africa, the PDP, indeed has a lot to learn. But it seems, as it has always done, the party has squandered the opportunity to make amends in its determination o do the bidding of its paymasters.
The general discontent among its members currently is a pointer to a major crisis brewing within the ruling PDP, with many aggrieved aspirants who felt short-changed in the process crying foul and threatening to leave the party and to equally ensure the failure in the coming elections. Investigations across the states have shown that many of the governorship aspirants in states like Adamawa, Enugu, Rivers Taraba, Sokoto and Kebbi have allegedly vowed to frustrate the ambitions of so-called anointed candidates and work against the success of the party in favour of the opposition party wherever they can do so.
Commenting on the botched PDP primaries for instance, former Governor of Edo State and Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Prof. Oserheumen Osunbor, while delivering a speech recently in Abuja, called for a new order to achieve transparent and credible elections next year, stressing that the conduct of the current party primaries to pick their candidates for the forthcoming election was far from satisfactory.
“What would ordinarily be a simple process of nominating candidates through internal mechanism at party primaries has become a major source of acrimony among major political parties. More often than not, party candidates emerge through imposition and manipulation by party leaders who hijack election materials and compromise party officials sent to conduct primaries with little or no regard for the preferred choice of rank and file party members” Osunbor said.
On his part, Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, demanded the cancellation of the senatorial primaries of the PDP conducted in Cross River central senatorial district. In a letter of appeal addressed to the PDP Electoral Appeal Panel, dated December 8, he said; “The exercise was fundamentally and fatally flawed as it fell short of the minimum integrity for an electoral process. The exercise was in complete disregard of the PDP’s guidelines for primaries in the following: the delegates list; accreditation, violent atmosphere, non-display of sensitive materials and non delegates voting’’.
In another letter, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Cross Rivers State, Mr Mike Igini, also kicked against the primaries, saying that it was “far below the standards of 2011 and this is not encouraging. The list of delegates used for the primaries was not made public. This was imperative as two lists were in circulation.”
A governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, described the party’s primaries that produced Senator Teslim Folarin as the candidate of the party for the 2015 governorship election as a charade. Makinde, while addressing journalists in Ibadan, noted that: “the process by which some group of people within the party decided to circumvent the court judgment by using statutory delegates instead of ad-hoc delegates to conduct the primaries is also a breach of the party’s electoral guideline. Consequently, it is a breach of the Electoral Act (2010).
“I am a law-abiding citizen of this country and a law-abiding member of the party and I also believe PDP is a law-abiding party. I am very sure President Jonathan, as the leader of the party, will not lend his name to the charade in the name of PDP party primaries. As far as the law is concerned, PDP is yet to elect its candidate for the 2015 governorship election in Oyo State,” he said.
On the other hand however, commendations have continued to trail the APC primaries across the states and the national convention of the party that saw Buhari emerge as its presidential candidate. Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State described the exercise as a model for democracy in Africa. He said that the primaries, which was won by retired Major General Muhhammadu Buhari was free, fair and credible.
“As we celebrate these women, we are also sending out a statement to the whole of our nation that in this state and in this city, that our integrity is more valuable to us than all of our personal lives. We are building a country that our children will be proud to inherit from us and that one day they can look back and say thank you for helping us build this country. From this city, we have sent a strong message about the politics that we will also play. If I am not mistaken, our gubernatorial primaries had the largest number of aspirants but we conducted it without rancour.
“None of the candidates who contested have come out to say that the primaries were rigged or that there were more voters than those who were accredited. A candidate has emerged and we are moving on. From Lagos, against all the odds, we played host in the last 48 hours to a party’s national convention and primaries that were a model for democracy for the whole of Africa. They are very strong statements that we are sending out that we can live by example. They are statements that make us stand tall”, Fashola said.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who lost the presidential ticket to General Mohammadu Buhari said: ‘’The APC has demonstrated, through the transparent process, the party’s commitment to democracy and rule of law. It has demonstrated its respect for people and their choice through the ballot box. I sincerely thank the Convention Committee for putting together a hitch-free convention. My dear friends, we have voted, a winner has emerged. I pledge my commitment to this party, and to campaign vigorously for our candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and all APC candidates to ensure victory in the 2015 elections.
Abubakar, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Wuse 2, Abuja.
