*** Insist it threatens internal Democracy

By Olayinka Ajayi

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Ambassador Sly Ezeokenwa, has urged the National Assembly to expunge certain provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act, particularly Section 77, that could stifle internal democracy of political parties.

Speaking with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, he posited that while some innovations in the Act are beneficial, others create unnecessary barriers for political parties and their members.

He said, “Nigerians have been clamouring for what I may call some amendment or overhaul of the Electoral Act to serve the aspirations of Nigeria in terms of entrenching a system or culture of a credible and transparent election. That’s what everybody yearns for. At least a process where you know that the people’s votes must count.

“When we came on board APGA, under the leadership of our national leader, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, one of the innovations that APGA championed, incidentally, that has become a subject of debate in this current dispensation is the introduction of direct primaries.

“Some people have felt, no, direct primaries shouldn’t be. You should allow the old regime where you choose between direct, indirect, or even the consensus modes. But we feel that the indirect mode of primaries was unnecessarily expensive.

“If you read from subsection 4 to 7 of Section 77, the problem is clear. It requires parties to submit a register 21 days before any primaries and stipulates that only those whose names are contained in that register can vote or be voted for.

“That means if a new member joins our party after submission, they are effectively barred from participating. This is a direct violation of the freedom of association guaranteed under the Constitution. So it means you are putting up a barrier to the admission of members. A matter that should strictly be the internal affair or regulation of a party. That’s where I have problems.

“We urged the National Assembly to expunge Section 77 of the Electoral Act. To understand what I meant by ‘expunging’, it is not all provisions. I’m coming from subsection 4 onwards…. You must submit this register 21 days before the primaries, and only those on it can vote or be voted for.”