Ahead of the off cycle Edo and Ondo Governorship election slated for September and October 2024 respectively, there have been mixed reactions regarding the kind of primaries to be conducted by the political parties. Recently, one of the aspirants under the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, Diran Iyantan, called for a direct primary mode for APC. While the political parties have not declared what mode of primaries they would be using, CDD War Room found it necessary to produce this explainer on the various modes of primaries and how aspirants can emerge to become candidates in the various political parties.
What are the Modes of Primary Elections in Nigeria?
According to the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), the nomination of candidates by political parties should be through primary elections ahead of presidential, state governorship, and legislative house elections.
Section 84(1) of the Electoral Act added further details that a political party seeking to nominate candidates for election under this Act shall hold primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which shall be monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Section 84 (2) provides that the procedure for nominating candidates by political parties for the various elective positions shall be by direct, indirect primaries or consensus.
Direct Primaries
According to Section 84 (4), direct primaries imply that the members of the political party will be given an equal opportunity to vote for a party member of their choice as the nominated candidate of the party. This direct mode of primaries will involve the participation of all registered party members in selecting the party’s candidates.
Procedures for Direct Primaries
(4) A political party that adopts the direct primaries procedure shall ensure that all aspirants are given equal opportunity of being voted for by members of the party and shall adopt the procedure outlined –
(a) in the case of presidential primaries, all registered members of the party shall vote for aspirants of their choice at a designated centre at each ward of the Federation;
(b) the procedure under paragraph (a) shall be adopted for direct primaries in respect of Gubernatorial, Senatorial, Federal and State Constituencies;
(c) Special conventions or congresses shall be held to ratify the candidate with the highest number of votes at designated centres at the National, State, Senatorial, Federal and State Constituencies, as the case may be.
Indirect Primaries
As for the indirect primaries, members of the political party will (firstly) democratically elect delegates at the party’s congress, and, in turn, the delegates will elect the party’s candidates on behalf of the members of the political party. That is, a large number of party members will elect delegates to represent them and vote for the aspirants of their choice, who will then become the party flagbearer. Section 84 (5 – 8) of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) generally stipulates the procedure for the conduct of indirect primaries in Nigeria.
Procedures for Indirect Primaries
The summary of the procedures for the indirect primary is that the political party shall hold a special Presidential, Governorship, Senatorial District, Federal constituency and State Assembly convention at a designated centre in any place within the Federation that is agreed to by the National Executive Committee of the party where delegates shall vote for aspirants of their choice. Thereafter,
(ii) The aspirant with the highest number of votes cast at the end of voting shall be declared the winner of the primaries of the political party. That aspirant’s name shall be forwarded to the Commission as the candidate of the party.
(b) in the case of nominations to the position of a Governorship candidate, the political party shall, where it intends to sponsor candidates –
(i) hold a special congress in the State Capital or any other place within the State with delegates voting for aspirants of their choice at the congress to be held on a specified date appointed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
Consensus Candidacy
The third mode of primary election is the system of consensus candidacy whereby all aspirants in the political party will voluntarily and expressly withdraw from the primaries and endorse a single candidate. In this consensus mode, the party does not conduct any election; they only affirm the choice of a single aspirant as the candidate. In an instance where there is no such express withdrawal, the political party will mandatorily conduct direct or indirect primaries.
Section 9 (a) of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) provides that “A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate;”
However, section 9 (b) provides an alternative when a party fails to reach a consensus. It says, “Where a political party is unable to secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the aforesaid elective positions.”