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Nigeria’s Political Parties

Nigeria’s Political Parties. Overview of Nigerian Political Parties. Usually regionally/ethnically based. Multiparty system due to extreme factionalism Some parties also form around powerful or charismatic individuals

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Nigeria’s Political Parties

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  1. Nigeria’s Political Parties

  2. Overview of Nigerian Political Parties • Usually regionally/ethnically based. • Multiparty system due to extreme factionalism • Some parties also form around powerful or charismatic individuals • Many parties formed around 1998 with the Independent National Election Commission (INEC), which is headed by AttahiruJega.

  3. Peoples Democratic Party • Started in 1998 • Party of current president Goodluck Jonathan • Neoliberal stance on economic policies and conservative stance on social issues. • Favors free-market policies • Has more leftist stance towards poverty and welfare • Moderate advocate for state autonomy and religious freedom

  4. Congress for Progressive change • Founded 2009 • MohammaduBuhariran as CPC candidate in 2011 • More left-wing than PDP • Supports individual liberty, social welfare for less priveleged, and a federal system of government • Break-off faction of ANPP (All Nigerian People’s Party) • Popular in the north

  5. All Nigeria Peoples Party • Founded 1998 • Buhari was the ANPP candidate in 2003 and 2007 before switching to the CPC. • Popular in the north • Very conservative, both socially and economically. • Currently the main opposition party of the PDP

  6. Action Congress of Nigeria • Founded 2006 • Formed as a merger of several minor parties • Classical liberalism: advocates political and economic freedom and limited government with rule of law. • Strong presence in the west, southwest and north central regions. • Has 2 presidential aspirants: NuhuRibadu and AttahiruBafarawa

  7. Current Party Trends • The top three parties are the PDP, ANPP, and ACN. • Many parties have started to lose their regional bases and now draw support from all over the country. • In order to reduce the number of parties, each had to earn at least 5% of the vote in 2/3s of the states to qualify for presidential or legislative elections. • Corruption is widespread; as a result, voters have switched to the “open secret ballot” system, in which voters registered at polling stations and wait until their results were posted locally to prevent multiple voting.

  8. Current Party Trends (Cont.) • A new political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) was formed in 2013 as a merger of the ACN, CPC, ANPP, and APGA: http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2013/02/13/the-merger-this-time/ • INEC has been accused of corruption and has received criticism over the years, most recently for the deregistration of 28 political parties: http://allafrica.com/stories/201212080336.html • There are currently 27 parties registered with INEC

  9. Interest Groups • DO play an important role in government • Civil society contributes to democratic ideals • Based on: religion, labor, business, rights and politics • Example: Muslim interest groups support the sharia law system in North

  10. Labor Unions • Before 1980s: independent and powerful • Under Babangida regime: limited influence under state corporatism – govt. chooses which groups are represented, who leads them • Now: Central Labor Organization, with people approved by Babangida • Have protests: 2003, unions across country protested govt. raising oil prices

  11. Strikes • National Labor Congress led a successful strike in 2007: workers across Nigeria protest govt. raise in fuel prices and taxes • Govt. agreed to rescind hikes, but still subsidizes oil

  12. Recent Issues • January 1, 2012 – govt. removed oil subsidy • Unpopular because it raised prices of oil from N65 to over N140. • Protest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpc8gwCXDn8

  13. Business Interests • Mostly agree with military regime • Shares the spoils of elite classes • Some in private sector (manufacturers, butchers, car rental firms) • Those outside govt. promote economic reform

  14. Human Rights Groups • Examples: students, teachers, civil liberty organizations, doctors, lawyers • Protested abuse of Babangida & Abacha regimes • Street demonstrations/protests in 1997-98 • Now loosely connected, but could help rise of democracy

  15. Mass Media Mass Media Overview: Independence of the media Tradition/history of Nigerian media Examples of media sources Stepping stones in the media sector Examples of Nigerian mass media

  16. Independence of the Media Nigeria’s press is… Surprisingly well-developed (surprising due to Nigeria’s classification as a less-developed nation) Independent – exemplified through Nigeria’s resurgence of newspapers even after General Abacha attempted to close the most influential and respected Nigerian newspapers/magazines (1994) Independence originates from Azikiwe’s “West African Pilot,” the first independent newspaper

  17. Tradition/history of Nigerian Media Characteristically lively Tradition established by history – Henry Townsend established “Iwe Iroyn” paper Mass media perpetuates regional cleavage (north vs. south): southern newspapers tend to be the most outspoken regarding social, political, economic issues, while fewer outspoken newspapers and media sources exist in the north Mass media adds to region-based stereotypes as, the southern newspapers exhibit a more aggressive tone (further creating a negative attitude towards northerners)

  18. Examples of Media Sources Popular media sources include… “Post Nigeria” (English) “Eagle Reporter” (selective concerning audience – distributed to Abuja, Lagos, Jos, Kano, Kabuna, Portharcourt) “Liberty Report” “Niger Delta Standard” There are hundreds of different newspaper sources Vision FM (Abuja); 92.9 ASO Radio (Abuja); 94.7

  19. Stepping Stones in the Media Sector 2007 election fraud portrayed in the “Post Nigeria:” this southern newspaper demonstrated that the national legislature and position of president were corrupted under fraud regarding elections by means of extra unused ballots illegally marked and stuffed into ballot boxes Journalism: southern journals expressed criticism of explicit, unjust governmental actions Radio: serves as main source of information in Nigeria, as all 36 Nigerian states run their own radio stations (exemplifies independence of the media at state level Statistic: 24 people per 100 people read the daily newspaper (average rate of

  20. Elections in Nigeria Stephen Idol

  21. Presidential Elections Candidate must win majority to win election If no one wins majority in first round, second ballot election may be held Presidential candidate must also receive at least 25% of vote in at least 2/3 of states

  22. Legislative Elections Nigeria has Senate and House of Representatives Senate has 109 senators (three from each of 36 states and one from capital of Abuja) Senate elected by popular vote, first-past-the-post plurality, SMD’s House of Representatives has 360 members, also elected by popular vote from SMD’s first-past-the-post plurality system

  23. Election History: 2003 Elections 2003 elections widely considered to be fraudulent by international observers Several politicians, including Marshall Henry of All Nigeria People’s Party, assassinated Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared 6 million votes to be fraudulent, removed them from voter rolls INEC’s actions unfortunately didn’t stop fraud Obasanjo won election

  24. 2007 Elections: Obasanjo tried to run for third term, legislature would not pass law to let him do so INEC declared VP Abubakar ineligible to run, but Supreme Court ruled that INEC had no such power Flawed last-minute ballots printed to accommodate Supreme Court ruling

  25. 2007 Elections Continued • Many problems: • Shortage of ballots • Ballot-box theft • Delay in ballot delivery • Lack of voter privacy • Fraud • Many voters protested; situation became violent and approximately 200 people died in riots • Yar’Adua of Muslim north became president

  26. 2011 Elections Goodluck Jonathan of PDP won election as incumbent (Yar’Adua died halfway through term and Jonathan became president) Considered great improvement over 2007 elections (less fraud) However, elections still revealed north-south, Muslim-Christian cleavages Goodluck Jonathan, southern Christian, dominated in southern states Muhammadu Buhari, northern Muslim, dominated northern states Widespread violent protest, arson, and bombings in northern cities; military had to restore order

  27. 2011 Electoral Map

  28. 2011 Electoral Data

  29. Sources http://www.inecnigeria.org/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/ Wood Book

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