PRIMARIES to select presidential, governorship, states and Federal legislative party flag bearers for the general elections, scheduled to take place in April, were recently conducted by the registered political parties.

This is to fulfil requirements stated in the 2011 General Elections Timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

However, reports reaching us from across the country indicate that all was not well with the exercise. Like in similar, previous exercises, malpractices characterized most of the primaries, a clear indication that politicians and the various political parties are yet to get rid of their old habits.

In most  cases, most of the primaries were marred by  massive rigging, violence, deaths, compromising of delegates and outright imposition of candidates  thereby endangering  prospects for free expression of the peoples’ will.

Nevertheless, from what Nigerians saw on national television, an exception could, however, be made of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primary where  President Goodluck Jonathan won a decisive victory at the party primary last Friday. His main rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has however  refused to accept the result. In this Atiku has not cited violence for his loss.

What clearly helped President Jonathan was the power of incumbency.   Jonathan trounced rival Abubakar, in all but a handful of the country’s 36 states. “The People’s Democratic Party has spoken with one strong voice … Our people have chosen the unity of our country above all other considerations,” Jonathan, dressed in his trademark fedora and caftan-like attire, said in an acceptance speech.

Jonathan won 2,736 votes compared to 805 for Abubakar. But Abubakar’s camp questioned the conduct of the poll. “His agents declined to sign the final results on account of lapses observed during the Thursday primaries,” his campaign team said in a statement, adding Abubakar had not yet decided on his next line of action.

It is, however, gladdening that one of the proponents of Northern Consensus candidacy, General Ibrahim Babangida, has written a congratulatory letter to President Jonathan.

This is not saying that the PDP presidential primaries cannot be improved on. And the only way to achieve the desired results   in elections is the prevalence of internal democracy in our political parties. Hence, it must bear repeating that internal party democracy, would minimize the tendency for improper conduct in political activities and reduce the violence that has so much become part of our political life in recent years.

The party primaries have once again demonstrated the onerous task ahead of INEC in ensuring that in the general elections, it is one man, one vote; that the votes of Nigerians count.