INTRODUCTION
Nigeria, with a total population of over 140 million people is one of the leading African Countries. With its huge natural and human resources and its strategic position on the continent, Nigeria stands on the threshold of becoming a major actor and factor in both continental and international politics.
2. However, over the years, one of the major challenges confronting the country and constitutes a fetter to its development is transitional politics. Nigeria is basically a plural society with complex socio-cultural setting which at one level presents the country as a cultural melting pot in Africa; at another level centrifugal forces often tend to weaken and undermine its federal structure.
3. It is however, widely agreed among Nigerians including friends of Nigeria that the best form of government that could help the country transit into a modern, developed and virile economy based on the principles of justice, equity and fairness is democracy. Significantly, this spirit has also coincided with the wind of democratic change that has been blowing across Africa and the rest of the world since the early 1990s, following the collapse of the old Soviet Union.
EARLY ATTEMPTS
4. Since 1960 when Nigeria gained political independence from Britain, Nigeria has passed through many phases from parliamentary system of government to military dictatorships and to presidential system of government. Within the past 48 years of independence, the pressure and stress on the Nigerian Political systems has led to numerous periods of tensions, crisis and conflict including a civil war (1967-1970), a war that tested the very foundation of Nigeria as a sovereign and indivisible entity.
5. While the vestiges of this tension still remain very much with us, it is also widely agreed among Nigerians that it is not only democracy that is needed but two core elements are vital: Federalism and Presidential system appears closest to system of government that could address and accommodate interests, fears and apprehensions of various groups in Nigeria. The question that has remained unanswered is how to achieve this.
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM
6. One of the major issues that over the years has remained in the public domain, which incidentally is the very reason why we are here today is how we can come up with a stronger, viable and durable Electoral System that can plan, organise and conduct a free and fair acceptable elections in the country.
7. The root of this problem lies in the fact that just like the National Assembly, the Political Parties and other major democratic institutions, the electoral Institutions is among the first major casualties each time there was change of government at the Federal level. This was particularly so in the 1960s to the 1990s during the period of frequent military interventions in the Nigerian politics when democratic governance was disrupted, disorganised and put in abeyance.
RETURN OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
8. Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to full democratic governance, the same old question has continued to confront Nigeria. While we have made significant progress with the re-emergence of multi-party system under a presidential system with a strong parliament made up of the Senate and House of Representative, still, we do not seem to get it right with each General Elections throwing up new problems, opening up old issues and generally raising tensions in the country.
9. The General Elections of April 2007 appear to have raised even more questions about the electoral system with loud voices coming from both within and outside the country concerning the conduct of the series of elections from the state to the Federal levels. While some of the issues could easily be dismissed as rantings of politicians who fail to win elections, there are numerous other issues that are very valid and must be addressed and resolved if subsequent elections are to avoid similar experiences.
10. Some of the issues include the status and composition of the electoral body, its relative independence from other arms of Government especially the executive branch; essence of political parties registration, timing and mode of registration of voters and planning and conduct of elections; powers of the electoral body to disqualify candidates; and the management of post electoral matters arising from the General Elections.
11. Other factors may not be directly related to the electoral body but have direct implications for both the process and the outcome of the elections. These include the status of candidates seeking re-election, i.e the incumbency factors; the funding of political parties; tenure of office holders; the role of other agencies of Government especially the Tribunals, the Courts, the Police, SSS and other agencies. While some of these are constitutional matters, other issues ought to be addressed in the electoral law and similar statutes.
12. There are of course other incendiary factors such as the role of God fatherism, an euphemism for political dominance of the political space by individuals and cabals; political violence and outright subversion of the Political process. The role of Political Parties appear very central to most of these issues because they are the central factors.
THE ELECTORAL REFORM COMMITTEE
13. We believe it is in recognition of these and the urgent need to tackle all of them that the Federal Government under President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua set up this distinguished Panel of highly respected seasoned patriots to chart a new course for all future elections in the country. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fully associates itself with this noble cause and commend the Chairman and all members for a job well done.
14. As you may all recall, in order to assist and strengthen this Committee, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua also last year convened an Inter-Party Consultative Committee which was attended by virtually all major stakeholders in the democratic project. As part of it, the five leading political parties in the country including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were invited to nominate seven members plus their National Chairman to come up with a position on the Electoral Reform Project. One of the Parties invited, the AC did not respond. The Parties that participated in the consultative work were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP)'S POSITION
15. Our Party, the PDP shares and fully endorses the position as articulated by the Inter-Party Consultative Committee. We believe, as major stakeholders, we have every reason and responsibility to collaborate with all other stakeholders to come up with workable, durable and acceptable electoral institutions, laws and values system that would guide us through future elections. In particular, the President's and the Party's commitment to vision 2020 through the instrumentality of the seven point agenda can not be fully achieved without a stable Political environment rooted in qualitative leadership.
16. To this end, the Peoples Democratic Party recommends that:
i. There is need to restructure and reorganise the Electoral Body to make it strong, independent and responsive to emerging trends and developments in the political environment. This can be achieved through the enactment of the enabling laws, the appointment of a serving or retired Supreme Court Judge or President of the Court of Appeal as Chairman of the Electoral body subject to approval by the Senate.
ii. Funding of the electoral body should be on first line charge arrangements to ensure that the mechanism of funding is not used to strangulate or undermine the electoral process.
iii. Funding of Political Parties should be de-centralised so that no single individual, a family or cabal will take over and appropriate a political Party. A ceiling should be placed on individual contributions to a Political Party, while care is also taken not to allow foreign forces to penetrate and take over our parties.
iv. Leadership of Political Parties should also be held responsible and accountable to breaches of public peace before, during and after elections. There is need to establish a commission to handle all Electoral offences. This will go a long way in curbing the excesses of Political actors.
v. Although secret ballot system constitutes the grand norm in all modern democracies, it has so far failed to address the persistent problems of rigging in Nigeria. In this regard, we wish to recommend the Open Ballot System, in the interim period of our democratic transition. With time and with the collective efforts of all stakeholders, we can in future adjust to the Secret Ballot System.
vi. One of the most contentious issues in the electoral process is voter registration. PDP recommends continuous registration exercise all year round to avoid disenfranchising legitimate voters for elections.
vii. We observe with concern that General Elections tend to be more acrimonious, contentious and even violent when the country is transiting from one Government to another. The two times four year term for Governors and the President appear to be the best under current arrangement but the incumbency factor has become a major obstacle to free and fair elections especially when an incumbent officer is seeking re-election and is being challenged by other strong candidates. Calling on incumbents to resign before elections no doubt will create anarchy and disorder. The PDP therefore recommends a system of tenure of seven (7) years for the President, six years for Governors and three years for Local Government Chairmen. In the case of Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly elections, candidates may continue to seek re-elections as long as they are electable.
viii. One of the unfortunate features of the current electoral law is that litigations in Tribunals, Appeal Courts and the Supreme Court continue well into the life of the administrations. This tends to detract the attention of elected officials, sarping energies, wasting resources and generally heightening tensions well after the election. The PDP therefore recommends a gestation period of at least six months between the date of election and that of swearing-in of an officer within which the Tribunals, Appeal Courts and even the Supreme Court must have disposed off post election litigations.
ix. This of course will place a lot of strain on the Judiciary. But this in turn means that the Judiciary must also be strengthened and empowered to ensure that it carries out its historic duty diligently. To this end the PDP recommends that all the Judicial Officers engaged in handling election matters must be properly kitted and provided for, not only to speed up the Judicial process but also to insulate them from the vicious temptations of corruptions and other misdemeanour.
x. One of the major problems facing Nigeria since political independence is the mutual suspicion, fear of domination and marginalisation. This is precisely why Federalism and the Presidential system appear closest to the system of government that could address this problem. Even though the situation has been relatively reversed it has not been eliminated. It is these persistent cries that led the PDP to adopt the zoning formular at both Party and Government level. So far we have recorded huge success. However, to institutionalise this formular and to make it applicable to all levels and situations, PDP recommends that the zoning formular should be entrenched into the Nigeria constitution with political power rotating between the North and the South and between the Senatorial zones at the State level.
xi. A lot has been said, often out of ignorance or mischief that the PDP is pushing Nigeria towards a one Party State. This is incorrect, false and misleading. If the Party strongly believes in the concept of one Party State, we would have included it in our constitution, our manifesto and campaigned for it vigorously during electioneering campaigns. None of this has happened. We believe in the concept of the more the merrier, but we shall not abandon our members, supporters and admirers on the altar of political blackmail. Of course, we share the view with all other major Political Parties in the Country that some of the fringe assemblage of a couple of individuals that call themselves Political Parties are major fetters to collective aspirations of building virile democracy based on viable Political Parties. The PDP therefore recommends that for a Party to continue to attract the recognition and financial support of the electoral body, it must win at least 2.5% seats in the National Assembly.
xii. The diversity of Nigeria also includes the problem alienation of women and other special interests in the polity, groups that hardly compete effectively against the dominant male, middle-upper class and established Political dynasties. Women here appear to be the greatest loosers and unfortunately too. To redress this apparent injustice, PDP recommends the introduction of a system of proportional representation for women at the electoral, administrative and executive levels to take care of this special interest.
xiii. Finally, no matter what laws are passed or institutions built to organise and conduct elections, their success or failure depends entirely on the attitude and behaviour of Nigerians. In this case all the actors have a responsibility to role back the pervasive culture of Political opportunism, nepotism and the hitherto hidden but now open disregard for lawful institutions which have become a culture in Nigeria for politicians to gain Political leverage. But once they loose their goals they cry loudest about injustice, demonise other Political actors and parties and generally go all out to undermine the entire political system. In our view, politics should be about service, service to the nation and humanity.
Prince Vincent Eze Ogbulafor, OFR, KSS, KSJ
National Chairman
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
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