The Legal framework for Political Party Representation under the Nigerian Law

Abstract

Political party representation is not only an imperative in any egalitarian society; it is one of the hallmarks of democracies. Such representation is largely determined by party structure, political ideologies, the degree of control exerted by party leadership and such intricacies. Political party representation could become a very complex issue due to competing interest and thus lead to internal wrangling, weakening of the party structure and sometimes disintegration of the body. It has also been the subject of very contentious litigation. Using the doctrinal research methodology, the focus of this paper is to appraise the adequacy and efficacy of the laws regulating political party representation. The paper, therefore, evaluates the provisions of the various legal instruments which regulate the activities of political parties to determine the true spirit embodied therein, and the level of compliance exhibited by the political parties. It examines the concept of political party representation in terms of what it entails; its scope of application and implication within the different political groups and the society at large, using PDP and its party constitution as a case study. The paper finds that party representation has largely been regulated by the legal regimes subject to party autonomy in determining its internal representation and governance.

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