Parties and election timetable

It was also the electoral umpire’s green light to the registered political parties to commence campaigns for the elections. Section 30 of the Electoral Act requires INEC to publish such notice of election in each constituency not later than 90 days before the polling day, and for such notice to provide the date of the […]

It was also the electoral umpire’s green light to the registered political parties to commence campaigns for the elections. Section 30 of the Electoral Act requires INEC to publish such notice of election in each constituency not later than 90 days before the polling day, and for such notice to provide the date of the election and the place where nomination papers are to be delivered.
The electoral commission way back in February released a timetable indicating specific timelines for each of the processes leading to the 2015 elections. In the notice issued by the electoral commission last week, it confirmed that the 2015 elections timetable, which it released earlier, remained applicable, meaning that the Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on February 14, 2015, while the governorship and state houses of assembly elections will hold on February 28, 2015. INEC went further to announce that the place of delivery of nomination papers for the elective offices will be the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. It is a positive development that the Commission is steadfast in applying the provisions of the law as it goes on with arrangements for the forthcoming elections.  
All the necessary steps that will make for a successful conduct of the elections in 2015 must be taken well ahead in order not to be hampered by time constraints. The political parties warming up to participate in the elections should take a cue from the seriousness displayed by the electoral body not only to put their houses in order but to do so well ahead of time without the usual penchant to do things at the last minute and then go to the courts when they falter from their own internal weaknesses.
The parties should ensure that they allow for internal democracy to take full bloom within their structures while putting in place the necessary machinery that will make for the emergence of their candidates for the various elective positions well ahead of time to entertain petitions, where inevitable, and to accommodate periods of appeals that may arise in the process in order to keep up with the pace set by INEC. It goes without saying that the quality of what will be achieved between now and the time of election would depend largely on how the political parties are able to get their acts together, by organising themselves and, above all, abiding by the rules guiding elections.
Nigerians would expect the political parties to show a new commitment towards managing their members and to clear all avenues that create room for disorder. In this regard, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have both released their timetables that indicate the processes that would lead to their primary elections, although the PDP appears to have settled for consensus candidature in respect of certain offices. The other parties are expected to follow PDP and APC lead in the days ahead by also making their timetables public.  The political parties should be as eager as the INEC to ensure that all possible obstacles to achieving the goals of free, fair and credible elections in 2015 are identified and removed.
Only by the positive conduct of all can the process for the deepening of Nigeria’s democratic begin to take hold. In the last few weeks, questions have been raised about what constitutes a campaign, and whether the activities of certain groups before INEC’s announcement amounted to a breach of the law.  After the 2015 elections, INEC should look again at these areas of ambiguity in the statutes and consider streamlining them, or excising them altogether.