POLITICAL PARTIES AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN NIGERIA. A CASE STUDY OF PDP AND APC (2011-2018).

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

What is meant by democracy and democratic consolidation? Questioning the sufficiency of electoral democracy, democracy entails not only contestation and participation but also the establishment of various sites for maintaining accountability, popular expression, collective action, and a wide range of civil and political freedoms. Diamond, (2011). In other words, the substantive conception of democracy depicts better what is meant by democracy in this chapter than the formal or procedural conception of democracy. Whilst the procedural democracy which has been advocated by Omotola refers to the establishment of rules, procedures and institutions for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a struggle for the people’s vote Omotola, (2008); substantive conception of democracy questions the sufficiency of formal democracy and asks for greater opportunities for people to affect debates about important decisions that shape their society. According to Przeworski, (2010) while the idea of formal democracy is related more to the process of regime transition, the shift in democratization studies to concentrating on regime consolidation has moved to discussion that goes well into areas of substantive democracy.

Consolidating Nigerian democracy through the conduct of credible elections has remained an albatross. The history of Nigeria’s democratic experiments demonstrates that elections and electoral politics have generated so much animosity which has, in some cases, threatened the corporate existence of the country (such as what happened after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election) and in other cases instigated military incursion in to political governance. At the heart of electoral crisis in Nigeria is the lack of credibility for the official results of elections leading to the rejection of such results by a sizeable portion of the Nigerian voting public. Since the 1964 general election, the first to be conducted by the post-colonial Nigerian government, elections in Nigeria have consistently been characterized by the contestation of results and organized violence. While there is a plethora of factors that account for electoral crisis in Nigeria, the institutional factor (designing a credible electoral system) appears to be the most salient. In addition, the process of implementing such an efficient electoral regime is challenged by sociological variables such as the pluralist character of the Nigerian nation, underdeveloped political culture and irrational elite behavior. Omotola, (2008).

A party’s commitment to democratic values will be reflected in its internal organizational structure. For example, a party’s local organizers and members should have the right – indeed, be encouraged to develop programs that they deem appropriate, such as public forums and membership recruitment campaigns. These local initiatives, however, should be consistent with basic party policy. Local leaders and organizers have a responsibility to contribute to the greater good of the national party and to communicate information about local activities to the national office. At each level, leaders, organizers and individual members should be accountable for fulfilling clearly defined responsibilities NDI, (2010). Political parties should be organized and managed no differently than other successful organizations. At the most basic level, this means that a successful party will have a clear internal management and communication structure that is well known and understood by its members.

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