Internal Party Democracy and Institutionalization of Political Parties in Nigeria's Fourth Republic

Authors

  • Alfa Patrick Innocent Department of Social Science and Humanities, The Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Nigeria. Author
  • Otaida Eikojonwa Department of Political Science, Federal University Dutsin Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria Author
  • Kamarul Zaman Haji Yusoff School of International Studies,Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia Author

Keywords:

Internal party democracy, political parties, Democratic consolidation, Fourth Republic, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper interrogates the connection between the level of internal party democracy which exists in  Nigeria's Fourth Republic political parties and their propensity to become institutionalised. The  objective is to unravel the reason for their inability to make effective contribution the deepening of  democracy in the country. The paper is descriptive and conceptual. It got insights from secondary  data which includes journal articles, national dailies, internet, magazines and textbooks. The data  gathered were analysed under various themes. The paper contends that Nigeria's Fourth Republic  political parties do not adhere to the tenets of internal party democracy, thus undermining the  prospects of their institutionalisation and negates the performance of their democratic functions. The  paper offers valuable suggestions that could enhance the level of internal party democracy in the  parties, propel them towards institutionalisation and most fundamentally contribute optimally to the  consolidation of democracy in the Fourth Republic and beyond. 

References

Abeje, A. (2013). Party system institutionalization and the prospects of democratic consolidation in ethiopia. Europian Scientific Journal, 5(23), 315-328.

Adejumobi, S. (2007). "Political parties in west Africa: The challenges of democratisation in fragile states", Report prepared for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) as part of its Global Programme on Research and Dialogue with Political Parties; International Institute for Electoral Assistance, Stockholm, Sweden.

Adeniyi, O. (2017). Against the run of play: how an incumbent president was defeated in Nigeria. Nigeria: Kachifo Limited.

Adesote, A.S & Abimbola, J. O, (2014). Electoral violence and the survival of democracy in Nigeria's fourth republic: A historical perspective. Canadian Social Science, 10(3), 140- 148. Akinloye, L. (2016). Nigeria’s once mighty PDP is fighting for its future. African Arguments. Retrieved from: http://africanarguments.org/2016/02/23/ nigerias-once-mighty-pdp-is fighting-for-its-future/#comment-81165

Alfa, P.I, Yusoff, K.Z, Rajanthiran, S.P (2017). Political parties and the quest for democratic sustenance in Nigeria's fourth republic. International Journal of Public Administration and Management, 4(1), 58-63.

Bratton, M. (2014). Vote buying and violence in Nigerian election campaigns, Journal of Electoral Studies, 27, 621-632.

Burnell, P. (2004). Building better democracies: Why political parties matter. London: Westminster.

Collier, P., & Vicentte, P.C. (2014). Votes and violence: evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria. The Economic Journal, 124(574), 327-355.

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) Third Alteration.

Dode, O.R. (2010). Political parties and the prospects of democratic consolidation in Nigeria: 1999- 2006. Africa Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 4(5), 188-194. Ekekwe, E. (1986). Class and state in Nigeria. Lagos: Longman.

Gauja, A. (2006). Enforcing democracy? Towards a regulatory regime for the implementation of intra- party democracy, Canberra, Democratic Audit of Australia.

Hislope, R and Mughan, A. (2012). Introduction comparative politics: The state and its challenges. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Hofmeister, W., & Grabow, K. (2011). Political parties: Functions and organization in democratic societies, Singapore: Konrad Adenauer.

Innocent, Yusoff & Eikojonwa 2020 (SAJSSH) Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 01-15

Ibeanu, O. (2013). Regulating Nigerian political parties: role of independent national electoral commission (INEC); Being a paper presented at the National Conference on Political Parties and the Future of Nigeria, organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.

IDEA. (2007). Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty Democracy, Africa Regional Based on research and dialogue with political parties,

Igbokwe-Ibeto, C.J, Osakede, K.O, Nkoma, B.B and Kinge, R.F (2016) Election and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria: An Analysis of the 2015 General Elections. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, (OMAN Chapter), Vol. 3 (10).

Iliffe, J (2011). Partisan lockups of democratic process. 50 Stan. L Rev. 643, 668-690. Isumonah, V.A. (2012). Imperial Presidency and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria. Africa Today, 43-68.

Janda, K. (2006). How nations govern political parties. Paper presented at the 20th World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Fukuoka, Japan.

Katsina, A.M. (2013). A contextual analysis of party system formation in Nigeria, 1960-2011. Intellectual Discourse. 21(2)

Katsina, A.M. (2016). People’s democratic in fourth republic of Nigeria: nature, structure and ideology. Sage Open (April-June), 1-11.

Kristina, W. (2011). Political parties and party types. Conceptual approaches to the institutionalization of political parties in transitional states: case of the Philippines. Manila:Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.Availableat:

http://www.kas.de/philippinen/en/publications/21710/

Mainwaring, S., & Scully, T. (1995). Building democratic institutions: party systems in Latin America. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.

Mainwaring, S., & Torcal, M. (2006). ‘Party system institutionalization and party system theory after the third wave of democratization’, in R. S. Katz & W. Crotty (Eds) Handbook of Party Politics, London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi: Sage, 204–227.

Maiyo, J. (2008). Political parties and intra-party democracy in east Africa: From representative to participatory democracy. Mphil Thesis Africa Studies Centre, Leiden University Makinda, S.M. (1996). Democracy and multiparty politics in Africa. Journal of Modern African Studies, 34(4), 555-573.

Matlosa, K. (2004). Interrogating challenges for intra-party democracy in southern Africa. EISA Occasional Paper PaperNo. 17, February 11.

Innocent, Yusoff & Eikojonwa 2020 (SAJSSH) Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 01-15

Matlosa, K. (2007). Political parties in southern Africa: The state of parties and their role in democratization. Report prepared for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) as part of its Global Programme on Research and Dialogue with Political Parties Stockholm: International IDEA.

Mbah, P. (2011). Party defection and democratic consolidation in Nigeria (1999-2009). Afro-Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 2(23), Quarter iii.

Meredith, M. (2005). The fate of Africa: A history of fifty years of independence. Public Affairs Publishing, New York.

Mersel, Y. (2006). The dissolution of political parties: The problem of internal democracy. Oxford Journals .org, 1, 84-113.

Mimpen, J. (2007). Intra-party democracy and its discontents: Democratisation in a volatile political landscape. Retrieved from http://plein66.nl/documents/64/intra.

Momoh, A. (2010). Democracy and elections: Myths, illusions and realities. Being 3rd Annual Law and Social Development Lecture Delivered at Airport Hotel, Ikeja, October 25, 2010. Nwankwo, O.B.C. (2005). “Political parties and the challenges of democratic federalism in Nigeria” American Journal of International Politics and Development Studies (AJIPDS), 1(1), 205- 228.

Odibachi, S. (2010). Transforming phase of democracy, 11 years after. National Daily Newspaper. Retrieved from http://nationaldailyngr.com/index.php/article on 10/11/2010

Ojo, E. (2008). Challenges of sustainable democracy in Nigeria. Ibadan: John Achers Ojukwu, C.C., & Olaifa (2011). Challenges of internal democracy in Nigeria's political parties: the bane of intra-party conflicts in the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria. Journal of Human Social Science, 2(3), 25-34.

Okhaide, I.P. (2012). Quest for internal party democracy in Nigeria: amendment of Electoral Act 2010 as an albatross. International Journal of Peace and Development Studies, 3(3), 57-75. Omilusi, M. (2013). Democratic governance in Nigeria: key issues and challenges. Akure: Adex Printing Press.

Omotola, J. (2009). Nigerian parties and political ideology. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 1(3), 612-634.

Omoweh, D. (2012). Deconstructing the democratic developmental state: Blocked democratisation and political parties in Nigeria and South Korea in Omoweh, D. (Ed) The feasibility of the democratic developmental state in the South. Dakar, CODESRIA. Retrieved from http://www.codesria.org/IMG/pdf/3-omowehpdf

Innocent, Yusoff & Eikojonwa 2020 (SAJSSH) Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 01-15

Osumah, O., & Ikelegbe, A. (2009). The people’s democratic party and governance in Nigeria (1999-2007). Journal of Social Science, 9(3), 185-199.

Randall, V., & Svåsand, L. (2002). Introduction: the contribution of parties to democracy and democratic consolidation. Democratization, 9(3), 1-10.

Randall, V., & Svåsand, L. (2002). Party institutionalization in new democracies. Party Politics, 8(1), 6-29.

Randall, V.C. (2006). Party institutionalization and its implication for democracy, paper presented on the Political Parties and Democratization at the IPSA Congress at Fukuoka, July 9-13, 2006.

Salih, M.A.M. (2006). The challenges of internal democracy in Africa. UNDP, A Handbook on Working with Political Parties; New York: UNDP.

Salih, M.A.M. (2008), ‘Introduction’ in African political parties: evolution, institutionalization and governance. London: Pluto Press.

Scarrow, S. (2005). Political parties and democracy in theoretical and practical perspectives: implementing intra-party democracy. Washington DC: National Democratic Institute. Smith, J. (2004). Federalism. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. Tenuche, M. (2011). The albatross called primary elections and political succession in Nigeria. Canadian Journal of Social Science, 7(4) 121- 130.

The Tide, March 27, 2010, www.thetidenewsonlinecom.2010/03/27/transforming-nigerian-party system/retrieved 2/11/2017.

Thurston, A. (2015). Background to Nigeria's 2015 election: A Report of the CSIS Africa. Webb, D., David M. F., & Holliday, L. (2002). Political parties in advanced industrial democracies. London: Oxford University Press.

Yusuf, M. (2015). Parties politics, electoral crisis and democratic consolidation in Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research and Reflection, 3(1), 19-27.

Downloads

Published

2020-10-05