The place of political party in a democracy goes beyond mass mobilization for election support only, but cover areas of political education and promotion of relative stability in the polity by serving as a. This report on political parties in africa is part of the programme of research and dialogue on political parties undertaken by the international institute for democracy and electoral assistance idea during the years 20042006. The importance, how to, effect causes relationship, comparison, history, role, solutions are discussed. The role of civil societies and struggle for democratization in nigeria moses. Ethnic politics and its implications for the survival of.
The first set of political parties to be formed in nigeria was formed. Adagbabiri, phd dept of political science delta state university abraka, nigeria okolie ugo chuks msc, cipm, nim, icen, ismn ican in view chartered institute of personnel management of nigeria cipm edo state study centre abstract. Issues, problems and prospects in olurode, lai and anifowoshe, remi eds. In this regard, since democracy was imposed by the west and the african states could not do otherwise, they operate a failed democracy which survives on fragility of the newly emerging states. The constitution provided for the parties to be funded. Ethnic politics and democratic consolidation in nigeria. Internal party democracy, party candidature, and democratic. On 15 january 1966, major chukwuma kaduna nzeogwu and his fellow rebel soldiers most of who were of southern extraction and were led by major emmanuel ifeajuna of the nigerian army, executed a bloody takeover of all institutions of government. Pdf this paper examines the roles of political parties in democracy and democratization, with focus on how the existing political parties have. In this dimension, whoever that finds his or her name in the register of any of the numerous political groupings that pretend to be political parties in nigeria, would. State as a result of violence have brought to the fore once again that perhaps the greatest challenge to sustainable democracy in nigeria is. History of political parties in nigeria nigerian finder.
Whatever the case, it is important to note that at the very heart of the success or otherwise of political party is the important question of political ideology. May 29 th of every year is declared democracy day in nigeria, and it also a public holiday. The political parties that had sought to engage the emerging democratic order were 24 abdu, 2002. Finally, the paper discusses the moral imperative of democratic consolidation in. History of democracy in nigeria and when did nigeria. Get free research paper on democracy and electoral process in nigeria our project topics and materials are suitable for students in nigeria with case studies in pdf, doc. For ikhide, democracy has, far from doing nigeria good, set the country back decades and provided a perfect alibi for the political class to bankrupt and bury the country once and for all. Democracy, good governance, corruption, human rights, electoral reform. An appraisal of the peoples democratic party pdp sixteen years 2 international journal of research in humanities and social studies v2 i9 september 2015 democracy in the literature is contested and for political science the theorization of the concept of. Wogu1 corresponding author,muyiwa adeniyi sholarin2, fadeke e.
Thomas chukwuma ijere democracy and development in nigeria. Nigeria s political parties with that of advanced democracies because party politics in nigeria is dirty an d that scare away good people aristotle, 2012. Nigeria political parties and internal party democracy. The nigerian government was dominated by the military till october 1979 when democracy was, once again, restored, thus, announcing the second republic. Section 225 3a and b as well as 225 4 forbid political parties from foreign funding of any kind. These were the peoples democratic party pdp, the all peoples party app and the alliance for democracy ad. Modern representative democracy cannot operate without political parties. This groundbreaking collection brings together scholars from across disciplines to assess the significance of josephs work and the current state of nigerian politics. Similarly, in nigeria, a breakup of the pdp, which has been nearly made possible due to a crisis of confidence in an elite consensus on power rotation among the regional blocs, could as well.
Peoples democratic party pdp as agent of consolidation. Stressing on the functionality of the political system in the allocation of scarce resources, maurice a. However, lack of internal democracy in nigerian political parties has become a persistent threat to the countrys nascent democracy. Democracy, government, party politics, political behaviour.
This refers to the set of methods that a political party applies to raise money for campaign and other routine activities. History and development of political parties in nigeria. The history of political parties in nigeria began when the first political party in nigeria was established in 1959, the year before nigeria gained her independence from great britain. Nevertheless, the democracy story in nigeria can be traced to the year 1960. The emergence of political parties and multi party system are positive indicators of sturdy process of democratic transition. Oneparty dominant systems and constitutional democracy. Three political parties the alliance for democracy ad, the pdp and the all peoples party app which became the anpp were registered to contest the transition elections in 1999. Elections held in august 1979 and were won by the national party of nigeria npn consequent upon which alhaji shehu shagari became the president. Existing literature divulges that the concern of party defection is rampant in nigeria s. What we have since 1999 in nigeria as political parties the peoples democratic party pdp, the all nigerian peoples party app and the alliance for democracy ad have nothing in common with the political parties of the first or second or third republic.
Richard josephs seminal 1987 book democracy and prebendal politics in nigeria represented a watershed moment in the understanding of the political dynamics of nigeria. Aside discussing the political parties in nigeria, this write up will equally discuss about the political history of nigeria. The whole thing started from the year1999, when olusegun obasanjo was sworn in as the first democratically elected president of nigeria. This is not because it was her first attempt at enthroning democratic rule, but because the transition. Pdf political parties and democratic consolidation.
Party politics, democracy and electoral violence punch. The nature of political parties and the nature of party politics have consequences for. Political parties, democracy, ideologies, intraparty democracy, democratic sustenance. In nigeria, the 1999 constitution as amended of the federal republic of nigeria specified in section 225 16 conditions and scrutiny of the sources of funds and expenses of political parties. In 1959, there were three political parties in the country and they include the following. Ethnicity, party politics and democracy in nigeria.
In democratic societies, people who share similar views and goals often join together to form political. Intraparty politics and democracy sustenance in nigerias. In simple terms, the objective of the paper is to identify and discuss the challenges to democracy and good governance in the country and proffer suggestions for a better democratic nigeria. The above question points our attention on if there is, also, any strong and credible opposition to sustain true democracy in kogi state. Since the enthronement of democracy, especially the westernliberal. Political parties and the transition to democracy a primer in democratic party building for leaders, organizers and activists the national democratic institute for international affairs ndi is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Introduction may 29, 1999 marked a watershed in nigeria s political annals. By doing so, the king acknowledged he was bound by law, like others, and granted his subjects legal rights. How has political parties faired in the consolidation of the nigerias fourth. Consolidating nigerian democracy through the conduct of credible elections has. Though, with peoples democratic party pdp in the saddle of leadership fore upward of seven years with membership cutting across the climes and sections of the country, a new assessment of party politics and democracy seems to be an interesting thrust for scholars and political observers. Election and politics of party defection in nigeria. In the nigerian context therefore, the desirous political system is democracy, which is in the strictest of sense, utopian.
The paper concluded that godfatherism and party politics have been the bane of nigerian democratic system. For the sake of this paper however, we are concerned with liberal democracy otherwise known as representative democracy and how it is aided or impeded by ethnic politics in nigeria. Introduction nigeria s return to democratic rule on may 29 1999 marked a political watershed in the countrys history. History of political parties in nigeria will never be complete if mention is not made of the various political bigwigs in the history of this country. Credible elections and democratic consolidation in nigeria. National council of nigeria and the cameroons ncnc.
Therefore, a political parties development index ppdi, similar to the undps human development index hdi needs to be considered. Thus, this paper examines the activities of nigerian political parties since 1999 to date. It is in a bid to find a lasting solution to issue of womens misrepresentation in nigeria political. Request pdf ethnicity, party politics and democracy in nigeria. The peoples democratic party is a freemarket oriented centerright political party in. It was the dawn of the fourth republic, a return to.
While it remains true that nigeria is governed by democratically elected leaders at the federal and state levels, nigeria is yet to institutionalise democracy after a century of existence as a political entity. In preindependence era, party politics in nigeria was based on ethnic factor. The paper avers that actionable ways of renewing nigerias democracy through a viable political party system is expedient now that the country is at the verge of insecurity and dancing on the brink of collapse. The paper discusses some of the impediments to the institutionalisation of democracy in nigeria after more. It is a multi party system with probably over a hundred parties. This is one of the political questions beg for answer among political scholars at various levels of government. There are usually 2 to 3 really big parties that cut across the whole country. By may 29, 1999 nigeria had been through series of successful. The level and pattern of political participation of the citizens determine, to some extent, the success of the political system.
Democracy in nigeria problems and prospects information. Finally, the researchers recommend that democratic. A, 2012 party internal democracy and the challenge of democratic consolidation in nigeria. As postcold war political events amply demonstrated in the former soviet satellite states in eastern europe, the media reflects the nature and level of maturity of democracy in a country as no other social indicator can. In 1215, english nobles pressured king john of england to sign a document known as the magna carta, a key step on the road to constitutional democracy. Presently there are 2 major parties, the peoples democratic party pdp and the all progressives congre. The political party is a critical, formal, institutional, organizational and mobilizational player in the political process particularly in relation to power, democracy, governance, governments and economy ikelegbe, 20. Political party financing and consolidation of democracy. Pdf ethnicity, party politics and democracy in nigeria. Tough words, but those who know ikhide know that he can be unapologetically melodramatic and. Controldriven legislation, comparative politics, nigeria, democracy and.
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