Taming a Lion: Barriers to Monitoring Campaign Finances of Political Parties Prior to the 2015 Elections in Nigeria

Moses T Aluaigba

doi:10.7176/rhss/9-18-10

Abstract

The role of money is germane to the survival of political parties and the conduct of their campaigns during electioneering periods. In fact, electoral processes in liberal democracies cannot end successfully bereft of requisite finances. However, this does not warrant the excessive deployment and vile use of money in the electoral process thus, contravening acceptable ethical standards. This is why in all democratic climes, there exist rules that guide against illicit acquisition and utilization of funds by political parties in financing their activities. The Nigerian democratic scenario is not different from this general norm as there are electoral laws that parties should observe in their quest to obtain finances to execute their programmes. These laws also specify penalties the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) can use in punishing erring political parties. In the build-up to the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, did the political parties adhere to existing laws while generating funds? Did the INEC adequately monitor how the political parties expend money during their campaigns? This paper examines and attempts to answer these questions by qualitatively analyzing the conduct of political parties with regards to their campaign funds before the 2015 polls. It assesses INEC’s efforts at monitoring their finances and the obstacles hampering the process in Nigeria and proffers solutions to the hydra-headed problem of monitoring the finances of political parties in the country. Keywords : Campaign finances, Political parties, Elections in Nigeria, Democracy DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-18-10 Publication date :September 30 th 2019

Highlights

The common adage that expresses a practical reality that a fish and water are inseparable, applies to the relationship between money and political parties
Did the political parties adhere to existing laws in their frenzied efforts to generate funds preparatory to the 2015 general elections? Did the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) adequately monitor how the political parties utilized the money they sourced during their campaigns to ensure that erring parties received penalties in line with the laws? This paper examines and attempts to answer these questions through the qualitative analysis of secondary data on the conduct of political parties before the 2015 polls
Political parties still remain central to the business of democracy inasmuch as they seem to be declining in their vigor in advanced industrial democracies (Gunther and Diamond 2001)

Summary

Introduction

The common adage that expresses a practical reality that a fish and water are inseparable, applies to the relationship between money and political parties. Other financial irregularities are political contributions for favors, contracts or policy change, forcing private organizations to pay ‘protection money’, limiting access to funding for opposition parties and the like (Walecki 2003; Saffu 2003; Bryan & Baer 2005; Orji, Eme & Nwoba 2014) These illegal practices have been orchestrated during all the elections conducted in the Fourth Republic in Nigeria from 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 to 2015. Despite the fact that these and other donations to political parties contravened the electoral laws, no action was instituted by the INEC to prosecute the ailing parties and individuals either because the electoral body did not monitor the parties or lacked the will and capacity to take legal action against them As it will be demonstrated of this paper, electioneering events leading to the 2015 general elections were not different from the episodes presented above and cannot be absolved from similar financial misconducts.

28. United Progressive Party

Conclusion