Posted by ABSOLUT — Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) members have urged more robust political parties in Nigeria in the run-up to the country’s 25th anniversary of democratic rule, with the goal of securing the democratic process’s continued growth and development.
Alh. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, National Chairman of the IPAC, stressed the importance of strong political party systems in Nigeria during his speech at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Democracy Summit.
Party politics, he said, has devolved into constant infighting and factionalization, and parties need to strengthen their internal structures to attract voters and advance the nation’s interests.
Adopting technology and establishing an election Offences Commission to pursue election criminals were two of the electoral reforms that Dantalle pushed for.
In his speech, he criticized state independent electoral commissions (SIECs) as instruments that governors use to influence elections and argued for more power for local governments.
A Strong Political Party System Is Essential To The Long-Term Health Of The Democratic Process, Dantalle remarked. Modern democracies rely heavily on political parties. They play an essential role as venues where citizens may bring their interests together and use electoral politics to call their government to account. To run for office in Nigeria, one must be a member of a political party. Therefore, political parties play an important role in our democratic system.
Our party politics are precarious right now; our structures are flimsy and deeply divided. Ward, city, state, and federal political party executives waste time plotting to depose their leaders instead of constructing party institutions that would strengthen democracy in the country.
“The current leadership of IPAC has devised a 4-Year Strategic Plan of Action that will run from 2024 to 2027. The plan’s objectives are to fortify the structures of political parties, develop the skills of party leaders, and introduce internal democracy into party management, especially with regard to the nomination of candidates for elections and the change of leadership in line with the provisions of their respective constitutions.
The majority of political parties will be victorious in a fair election if all votes are cast and counted. That is why the Independent People’s Assembly of California (IPAC) backs BVAS and IReV, and why it thinks INEC should make these innovations even better so that elections are transparent.
As the most accessible level of government at the grassroots level, the Nigerian council has called for more independence for the country’s local governments. Local politics clearly play a significant role. More people need to get involved in grassroots politics. If this works, it would help Nigeria’s democracy become even stronger.