Mixed Reactions Trail De-Registration Of Political Parties

As mixed reaction to the de-registration of political parties continue to gather momentum, some residents of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, have described the de-registration of seven political parties as the only channel to a stable democratic process.

Our correspondents who sampled the opinion of a cross section of stakeholders, explained that the electoral body should disband 56 other political parties before the end of the year. However, opposition political parties have described the announcement by INEC as oppressive and against the rule of law.

Chairman of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Rivers State, Mr Mike Nwielegha supported the de-registration process by INEC, since  they never met the provision of Section 78 (7) of the 2010 Electoral Act as amended.

Mr Martin Ikhiwele, a member of the Forum of Organized Opposition Political Parties (FOOPP) Rivers State, who corroborated the views of Nwielegha said, by his own estimation, only six political parties ought to be registered.

Ikhiwele argued that the six political parties that should be registered should include, PDP,. ACN, ANPP, CPC and Labour party because of their pedigree and performance during the April general elections.

The chairman of Labour Party in the state, Prince Felix Reuben also supported the views of Ikhiwele, when he said , INEC should strength the democratic institutions in order to restore the confidence of Nigerians and the international community.

Barrister Theophilus Oru argued against  INEC’s decision. He maintained that the electoral body should allow the smaller political parties to exist along side the major parties as practiced in Britain.

Rather, he called on INEC to improve on the requirements for the registration process and not to limit the political space.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had last week de-registered seven out of the 63 political parties over failure to field candidates for various elective positions during the last general elections.

The affected parties are Democratic alternative, National Democratic Council, National Action Council, Masses Movement of Nigeria, Nigerian Peoples Congress, Nigerian Elements Progressive Party and National Unity Party.

Ike Wigodo & Enoch Epelle