How not to apply consensus primaries
Ebonyi State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Stanley Emegha may have been motivated by good intentions when he asked political aspirants to obtain permission from Governor Francis Nwifuru
Ebonyi State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Stanley Emegha may have been motivated by good intentions when he asked political aspirants to obtain permission from Governor Francis Nwifuru before purchasing expression of interest and nomination forms.
This seeming altruism may have stemmed from his desire to insulate aspirants from eventual financial losses if they pay for the forms without knowing the direction of the governor’s mind. Hear him: “Any aspirant who purchases nomination forms without the governor’s directive will be wasting his effort and resources”.
To underscore the seriousness of the issue, he further warned aspirants that there would be no refund of money paid for nomination forms irrespective of whether the aspirant scaled through the primaries or not. The reading here is that Ebonyi APC is poised to adopt the consensus option in the nomination of candidates for the 2027 elections.
But the advice highlights emerging challenges in the application of consensus as political parties prepare for their primaries. The first challenge arose from Section 84(2) of the new electoral law which stipulates either direct primaries or consensus as the procedure for political parties to nominate candidates for elective positions.
The other relates in the main, to high nomination and expression of interest fees prescribed by political parties for candidates seeking elective positions. The set fees by the APC for expression of interest and nomination forms for the presidency is N100million, governorship N50million, senate N20million while the House of Representatives attracts N10million.
State House of Assembly aspirants have their fees set at around N6million. The party has 50 per cent discount for women while youths between the ages of 25 and 40 have 50 per cent of the fees waived. The reductions are to ensure inclusiveness.
When Emegha advised Ebonyi political office seekers to get the permission of the governor before buying forms, he must have been guided by two considerations. The first is the obvious pitfalls of the consensus option. The second, closely linked to the first, is the likely huge financial losses aspirants will suffer buying forms when no contest will eventually take place.
He was under no illusion that the consensus option will be adopted by the party in selecting candidates. And the governor’s opinion will be the deciding factor. Why then waste money buying forms when the governor has both the yam and the knife?
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He may have reasoned that it would border on callousness to allow aspirants buy nomination forms at exorbitant rates only for them to be asked to step down through questionable consensus arrangements. Good advice, it would seem.
But that is where the problem begins. Yes, the new electoral law prescribes either direct primaries or consensus for the nomination of candidates by political parties. In practical terms, direct primaries are given expression through registered party members taking active part at various levels in the nomination of their preferred candidates. This entails direct voting by registered party members for candidates of their choice based on their rating among their peers.
Through this process, internal democracy is deepened while upholding popular choice. Direct primaries allow aspirants to sell their programmes to the electorate making it easy for party members to make informed choices. Even as it goes with high costs and logistic encumbrances, the option is a better route to approximate democratic principles.
By contrast, consensus requires all aspirants in a political party to withdraw and support a particular candidate. This does not involve any primary at all as decision is just taken on the candidate to support. How that decision is arrived at to conform to democratic ethos is the greatest challenge of the consensus option. And as can be seen from the Ebonyi situation, aspirants are being coerced not to buy nomination forms without the approval of the governor.
Its implication is not lost on anyone. This is more so in a clime where politicians go to lengths to invent all manner of subterfuge to take advantage of well-intended government policies and programmes. Such negative tendencies have been fingered for the inability of the democratic culture to grow and endure in this country.
What is termed consensus will soon turn out another guise for the imposition of candidates. Little wonder it offers more attraction to political parties than direct primaries. Its allure lies not as much in its capacity to deepen democracy but the advantage it confers on political power holders. And that is the contradiction elevated to the fore by the advice of the Ebonyi APC state chairman. If every aspirant has to get the permission of the governor before buying nomination forms, then only those in his good standing will emerge as candidates.
That will definitely shunt out popular choices and popular candidates the governor may not be comfortable with. Where does that leave us? And how does it remedy the imperfections of the indirect primary approach which the new law seeks to correct?
Emegha was not unmindful of the larger consequences of asking aspirants to get the approval from the governor before buying forms. For him: “the governor is a fair-minded leader who is committed to using justice and fairness in all constituencies of the state”.
By extrapolation, he is saying that the governor will be the deciding factor on who runs for which office. The criterion the governor will use in arriving at those choices is a matter of educated guess.
That is not the way to go about a consensus arrangement that aims at throwing up popular candidates whose programmes align with the wishes and aspirations of their constituents. Even then, the advice is bound to have a demoralising effect on popular aspirants who may not enjoy the favour of the governor but are popular in their constituencies.
The approach of Ebonyi APC to the consensus arrangement may end up shunting out popular aspirants from the race. It is not a choice the governor can make alone. Any consensus arrangement that does not start with all aspirants running for the same office is faulty.
The aspirants should be made to work out some consensual arrangements amongst themselves deploying the peculiarities of their constituencies to effect. Where at the end of the day they are unable to come out with a choice, a broader arrangement involving the party and critical stakeholders should be used to nominate the most suitable candidate.
Though the governor could still influence this process, but it insulates him from suspicion of imposition arising from all aspirants having to get his nod before buying nomination forms. There is everything wrong with that arrangement.
These fears strengthen the direct primaries approach irrespective of the high cost and logistic details they entail. Democracy is given life when registered party members take part in the nomination of candidates to stand for elections. Candidates that emerge through such processes are more likely to command higher electoral appeal.
Consensus is imbued with all the imperfections of indirect primaries and more. It will fare no better with the pervading sycophancy and hero worshipping in the political space.
