𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗪: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗦𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀

𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗧𝗔 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘,

𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗮, 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮.

The conduct of political party primaries remains one of the most critical stages in Nigeria's electoral process, as political parties are legally required to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act and their respective party constitutions before presenting candidates for elective offices.

Under Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022, every political party seeking to nominate candidates for any elective office must conduct primary elections, which are to be monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The Act recognises three methods of nomination: direct primaries, indirect primaries and consensus.

For direct primaries, every eligible party member must be given an equal opportunity to vote for the aspirant of their choice, and the aspirant with the highest number of valid votes emerges as the party's candidate.

Where a party adopts indirect primaries, delegates must be selected in accordance with the party's constitution and guidelines, and the delegates are expected to freely elect the party's candidate through a democratic voting process.

The law also permits the adoption of a consensus candidate, but only under strict conditions. Every cleared aspirant must voluntarily withdraw from the contest and provide written consent endorsing the consensus candidate. Where even one aspirant refuses to consent, the party is legally required to conduct either direct or indirect primaries. A special convention or congress must also be held to ratify the consensus candidate before the name is submitted to INEC.

These provisions are intended to strengthen internal democracy, prevent the arbitrary imposition of candidates and ensure that all qualified aspirants are given a fair opportunity to contest for party tickets.

Disputes, however, frequently arise during party primaries. Aggrieved aspirants often allege irregularities such as manipulation of delegate lists, exclusion of eligible members, failure to comply with party guidelines, alteration of results or the unlawful imposition of consensus candidates.

Before approaching the courts, most political party constitutions require dissatisfied aspirants to first exhaust the party's internal dispute-resolution mechanisms. These usually include filing a petition before the Primary Election Appeal Committee or appealing to the National Working Committee (NWC) or the next higher party organ within the time prescribed by the party's constitution and nomination guidelines. Many party constitutions expressly provide that an aggrieved member has the right to appeal decisions of lower party organs before further action is taken.

Where the internal appeal process fails to resolve the dispute, an aspirant who actually participated in the primary election may seek judicial redress. Section 285(14)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) recognises an aspirant who complains that the provisions of the Electoral Act, party constitution or nomination guidelines were not complied with during the conduct of the primary election as a person with the legal standing to institute an action before the Federal High Court or the High Court of a State, subject to the constitutional time limits.

Legal experts maintain that strict adherence to both the Electoral Act and political party constitutions remains essential for credible candidate selection, strengthening internal democracy and reducing post-primary litigation that often threatens the stability of Nigeria's electoral process.