2019 General Elections: Need for Human and Institutional Capacity Development for Political Parties

Since Nigeria traced back its way to democratic governance in 1999, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has registered 67 political parties has well over 80 more application for consideration for registration before the deadline. Some of these parties are in comatose while others are struggling to survival in the hash political environment. Given that political parties are the livewire of democracy, there is need to enhance and support their grow both in their human and institutional capacities. Thus study recommends that for the immediate INEC should make the human and institutional capacity development that National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) is currently providing compulsory for all the political parties that are ready to field candidates in the 2019 elections. While the long term actions should include that after the 2019 elections, the National Assembly should amend the electoral law to include a clause that will make the human and institutional capacities’ development compulsory for political parties; and also a clause that spelt-out the required educational qualification of executive members of political parties should be added to the electoral law too. All executive members of political parties should have a second degree that is not more than 50 years old.Â