Apart from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), there are over 25 parties on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) register. But, do they have prospects in 2015? Musa Odoshimokhe examines the fate of the parties on the fringe as the country prepares for the general elections.
The 2015 elections will be a straight fight between the two dominant parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). The minor parties may become spectators during the presidential election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has over 25 political parties on its register.
The small parties include the Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria (LDPN), the Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN), the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), and the National Conscience Party (NCP). Others are the National Democratic Party(NDP), the National Solidarity Democratic Party (NSDP), the National Movement of Progressive Party (NMPP), the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the Peoples Progressives Party (PPP), the United Democratic Party (UDP), and the Mega Progress Peoples Party (MPPP).
The relevance of these parties will depend on their alliance with the two dominant parties. For the PDP and the APC, it is not going to be business as usual. The defections in the political camps point to the fact that a tough contest is imminent.
The PDP and APC are consolidating their strongholds, ahead of 2015. But, the minor parties are diminishing in strength. Thus, would – be voters are raising eyebrows over the extension of subvention to them by the electoral commission.
The Labour Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Accord Party (AP) fielded candidates in the 2011 polls and won some seats in the state and federal parliaments. For instance, the LP won the governorship election in Ondo State and seats in the House of Assembly. APGA has maintained its hold on Anambra State. The Accord Party is struggling for survival in Oyo State. It has some seats in the House of Assemly.
As the polity prepares for the next elections, are the minor parties in the reckoning? Can they make any difference in 2015? Will they form alliance with major parties?
The MPPP, which held its national convention in February, has said that it would spring surprise. Its new chairman, Mr. Dare Falade, said the party will fly, despite the resignation of its national chairman, Hon. Rasheed Shitta-Bey, who has defected to the APC. He did not rule out the possibility of going into alliance with any of the major political parties.
However, the National Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa, expressed misgivings about the two major political parties. He said the minor political parties have rejected them and would have nothing to do with them. This position contradicted the views of Falade, a member of the forum.
Musa said that, if the country is to achieve a breakthrough, the solution does not lie with the APC and the PDP. He urged the minor parties to rise up to the occasion to save the country. He said the manifestoes of the two leading parties have failed to address poverty, insecurity and infrastructural deficiency.
Musa said: “All the other political parties have rejected any merger with either the APC or the PDP. Therefore, the most logical thing they should do for their own survival and relevance is to form democratic alliance with the strongest among the minor parties.
“They should forge ahead and prepare against the PDP and the APC. They have to be led by one of the political parties that have structures on ground. The party should control, at least, one state government. If this is done, they will be in a position to give the PDP or the APC a fight during the 2015 election.
“The political situation in the country today clearly needs such an alliance that will save the country because, if this is not done, the country will not move forward. It is clearly in the body language of the dominant parties that they want to either perpetuate themselves in power to enslave the people or want to take over power for their own selfish interest.”
The Chairman of the Civic Consciousness Initiative, Prof. Idowu Sobowale, said the lukewarm attitude of Nigerians to election must be addressed. He said political apathy is not the solution.
Sobowale said: “It is not a subject of assigning role to minor political parties. It is a question of whether they are coming out with new idea. It is a question of whether they are coming out with sincere ideas to move the country forward. If they do, the chances are that they could be invited by one of the major groups or they could come together and in turn form a third major party”.
The university don said that minor parties could be encouraged, if the electorate live up to their civic responsibilities.
He added: “The usual attitude that politics is evil and should be left to those people who can play the dirty game has been the bane of the failure of government.”
A chieftain of the PDP in the Southwest, Chief Ishola Filani, said the relevance of the minor political parties depend on their philosophy.
He said that parties will attract votes, based on their manifestos.
“These parties will determine the role they can play in the next electoral dispensation. Under the law, they have the right to contest, except the law says otherwise”, Filani added.
The party chieftain said the gates of alliances are not closed, adding that, if the smaller parties chose to join the PDP, they are free. “There is no law that bans them from integrating with any of the major political parties of their choice,” he stressed.
The Coordinator of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), Mr. Ayo Opadokun, said that it is still too early to reflect on what the smaller parties will do in 2015. He said that the political landscape is still evolving and re-adjusting to reality.
Opadokun said: “The year 2015 will open its space to accommodate the minor parties and we will all see the role they will play”.
A Chieftain of the Pro National Conference Organisation (PRONACO), Linus Okoroji, said available statistics indicate that majority of the eligible voters do not vote, stressing that this vacuum gives opportunity to politicians to enjoy underserved victories at the polls.
“Any credible Nigerian, who finds it difficult to contest elections on the platforms of big parties, can organise and contest on the platforms of the relatively smaller parties and, with proper mobilisation, they can win.”
