Law to deregister party with no house of assembly seat underway

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Law to deregister party with no house of assembly seat underway

Alaw that will deregister a political party without a seat in the House of Assembly is underway as a bill for an act to alter the provisions of the 1999 Constitution to regulate and strengthen political party structures in Nigeria scaled through second reading.

The bill will also ensure that the party will not be allowed to contest any future elective position.

The majority of House of Representatives members have thrown their weight behind it.

Oberuakpefe Afe (PDP–Delta), who sponsored the bill, said there was a need to regulate political parties’ structures in the country.

The legislator noted that if a political party did not win a seat in the House of Assembly, such a party should be deregistered and should not be fit to contest any elective position further.

Mr Afe added that the bill would further help structure political parties in the country if passed.

Nkem Abonta (PDP-Abia), in his contribution, explained that there was a need to respect the freedom of association, adding that excluding a party for political participation was not in the spirit of the constitution.

He further argued that the principle of democracy was that the majority would have their way while the minority had their say, adding that the party could win election in the council area and not necessarily the state house of assembly.

The speaker, however, called for a voice vote and the bill scaled through the second reading when the majority of the lawmakers voted in its favour.