Direct primaries: PDP says no party can impose its processes on another.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has received the news of the passage of the harmonized Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which among other things, provided for direct primaries for nomination of candidates for elections by political parties.

The party, however, held that it is the inalienable right of each political party, within the context of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy, to decide its form of internal democratic practices including the processes of nominating its candidates for elections at any level.

In a statement by the party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said it believes that no political party should force its own processes on any other political party as the direct primaries amendment, a practice of the All Progressives Congress (APC), sought to achieve, adding the party shall within the next 48 hours, make its final decision in respect of the amendment known to the public.

The Senate and the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, passed a harmonized version of the 2010 Electoral Act (amendment) Bill, 2021, after adopting the report of their joint Conference Committee.

Among others, the synchronized version of the bill mandates all political parties to conduct their primaries using the direct method. This method will afford all party members the opportunity to vote and elect candidates for all elections. It differs from the indirect primary, where only party leaders and elected officials act as delegates to decide candidates.

The bill also gives legal backing to the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit election results electronically without the permission of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). 

Ango Bally