The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Wednesday said it was worried over the number of associations that have applied to be registered as political parties ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The commission said it was perturbed that except there was an urgent reform of the extant electoral law in the country, over 200 political parties might participate in the next general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who made the revelation at an Electoral Reform Roundtable organised by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, in conjunction with the Kofi Annan Foundation, lamented that the number of associations seeking to be allowed to field candidates in 2023 were more than the existing political parties.
Yakubu, who was represented at the event by INEC’s National Commissioner, Mr. Festus Okoye, equally lamented that the commission has over 800 pre-election cases that were still pending in courts, adding that over 70 Certificates of Return have been withdrawn from various candidates that emerged from the 2019 polls.
He said: “Let me just say that one of the biggest challenges the Commission has as at today, relates to the plethora of pre-election matters that are still pending in the various courts of law.
“As at today, the Commission has in its docket a total of 809 pre-election matters, while we have 800 post-election matters.
“So, the implication is that we have more pre-election matters in our docket than post-election matters.
“As at Tuesday, the Commission has withdrawn and issued over 70 Certificates of Return that were previously issued to those that were elected into States and National Assembly positions. There are more we are still withdrawing and there are more we are still issuing.
“Some of these issues arose as a result of what we called not too transparent primary elections that were conducted by political parties, and this is really a source of concern that up till today, there are still cases arising from pre-election matters that are still pending in courts.
“We have also expressed concern over the number and quality of political parties in Nigeria. Our ballot papers are getting longer, the result sheets are getting bigger and it is also creating a big challenge for the voters in the field.
“I think we need to have a national conversation on this matter to see if we really need the number of political parties in existence in the country.
“This is because as at today, the number of political parties fighting to be registered can be said to be more than the number of political parties already in existence.
“The implication is that if we register all the political associations that have applied for registration, we are going to go into the 2023 general elections with over 200 political parties.
“I do not know whether this is really what the Nigerian people need.”
INEC chairman said there was need for constitutional amendment to reconsider the 180 days stipulated in the 4th Alteration for determination of pre-election matters.
He said the time frame affects election timetables with regards to political parties to be included on the ballot.
According to him, there is need to shorten the period to ensure that pre-election matters are determined before any major election.
“I believe that this national conversation is coming at a critical stage in the nation’s journey towards improved electoral management.
“I assure you that we are quite open and courageous about the type of reforms we want to embark upon and we are going to put together all the recommendations that have been made by both international and domestic observers and all the critical stakeholders into the framework of the overall recommendations that will go the National Assembly.
“The commission is also engaging in the review of the processes leading to the 2019 general elections.
”At present, most of the national commissioners of the commission are in the various states of the federation meeting with persons who served as presiding officers and also meeting with assistant presiding officers and other electoral officers to review the entire components of the 2019 general elections in terms of the positives and also in terms of the challenges.
“In the next few days we are also going to have all the electoral officers in the whole 774 local government areas of the federation coming into Abuja for us to also have a look at what we did right during the 2019 elections and some of the challenges, especially at the LGAs as well as registration areas.
“The commission has also mapped out an elaborate program of the engagements with all the various political parties in terms of what happened during the 2019 elections, around the party nomination processes, around the number of political parties in Nigeria and how to manage the number of political parties in our ballot papers and also how to manage issues about the collation centers.
“INEC is also receiving and has received a considerable number of international election observers and also domestic observers and we urge those who have not submitted their reports to do that urgently so that we can harness all the reports and put them into a compendium and see where we have a convergence and also see the recommendations.
“This will help us to consolidate all the recommendations and use them to improve the regime of the electoral process,” INEC chairman added.
In his speech, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, who was represented by Dr. Ibe Awosika, said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would look into recommendations from both national and international observers that monitored the 2019 general elections.
However, he insisted that the nation made considerable improvements in the last general election.
Prof. Osinbajo, who stressed that growing democracies, such as Nigeria, have much to learn after every election cycle, said President Buhari was committed to a fair electoral process.
“As an indication of the administration’s commitment to a fair electoral process, one that represents the will of our populace and the desire to improve the electoral process, the administration welcomed the various local and international observers, the United Nation, ECOWAS, the NDIRII and the EU Situation Room, to mention but a few.
“The report we expect will provide useful and independent observations that will improve our next elections.
“The Nigerian citizens demonstrated their faith in the leadership and administration of President Buhari on the poll with a clear majority.
“This is because of their belief in the ability of this administration to take citizen to the next level in various areas,” he said.
Osinbajo said the administration would consolidate on the gains in the next four years to build an economy that will create business and jobs for the citizenry, to reduce economic inequality and improve the security situation in the country.
On its part, the European Union, through its Ambassador, Ketil Karlsen, said there was need for the federal government to have the political will to implement recommendations in reports that emanated from various observers that participated in the 2019 general elections.
He decried that the desired electoral reform in the country might be hampered because of fear by some of the political actors that it might affect their chance in future elections.
Similarly, the Secretary General of the United Nations who was represented by Dr. Mohammed Chambas, said there was need for Nigeria to consciously work towards increasing the number of women and youths that participate in active politics.
