High cost of party nomination forms
The gale of condemnations that has continued to trail the high cost of political parties’ nomination and expression of interest forms is in the right direction. We align strongly with it.
A look at four major political parties in the country shows that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) pegged the cost of its forms at N22 million for presidential and N11 million for gubernatorial aspirants, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) charged N27.5 million and N10 million for presidential and gubernatorial aspirants, respectively. For the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), the forms sold for N25 million for presidential and N5 million for gubernatorial aspirants, while the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), which is not fielding any candidate for the presidential election having adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as its candidate, fixed the gubernatorial forms at N12 million.
Undoubtedly, this development does not bode well for Nigeria’s fledgling democracy. If anything, it is capable of breeding corruption, blocking quality aspirants from contesting and leaving only moneybags to run the entire electoral process, ultimately destroying the nation’s democratic experiment.
From the result of a sample survey carried out by the Electoral Knowledge Network, a global online resource for election policy, in September 2013, contesting for an elective position in Nigeria appears the most expensive among peers. According to the survey, aspirants for the presidential election in Ghana each have to pay 5,000 cedis (about $2,600), while those in Guinea pay 400,000 GNF ($55,000). In Benin Republic, each candidate pays 15,000,000 CFA francs (about $28,951), refundable if the candidate obtains at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the first round.
In Burundi, nomination for the presidential election costs each candidate 15,000,000 Burundian francs (about $9,646), refunded if the candidate earns a minimum of 5 percent of the votes in the first round, while in Sierra Leone, it will cost an aspirant 1 million leones (about $225) to pick a presidential nomination form. Nomination form for president in Kenya costs each male candidate 20,000 Kshs (about $2,236) and women 100,000 Kshs (about $1,118), according to the survey.
We disagree with some party chieftains that the high cost of the forms is deliberately designed to separate the men from the boys. In our view, it is politically discriminatory, morally outrageous, and calls to question the integrity of the country’s political leaders.
We sternly warn that the excessive charges imposed by parties on aspirants running for election at various levels may scare away many decent people, leaving the entire process in the hands of criminals and those who have acquired wealth through dubious means. In the end, we will produce as leaders a bunch of never-do-wells and people of low intellect whose only qualification would be that they are rich.
Similarly, we observe that if the trend goes unchecked, Nigeria may be risking a return to the dark days of political godfatherism, the like experienced in Anambra State when godfathers held the state hostage and a serving governor was kidnapped because he refused to do the bidding of those who sponsored his election.
We see as most unfortunate the statement made by President Jonathan in April, while receiving the report of the National Stakeholders’ Forum on Electoral Reform headed by Ken Nnamani, former Senate president, that regulation of campaign expenses is unrealistic. We believe it can be regulated, if only government has the will.
The Electoral Act of 2010 empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to regulate the sources and nature of funding for political campaigns in Nigeria. We agree with political analysts that it is the inability of INEC to enforce relevant portions of the Electoral Law that is fuelling the “excesses of politicians”. INEC must wake up to its responsibility now and save our democracy.