NCP says no to de-registration of political parties

The National Conscience Party on Monday called on the incoming 8th National Assembly to drop all provisions in the 1999 Constitution Amendment that prescribed de-registration of political parties.

The National Chairman of the party, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, made the call in a statement in Abuja.

Tanko also urged the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, not to succumb to pressure to embark on such “unwholesome move”.

Tanko urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to concentrate on adequate preparations toward future credible elections rather than de-register political parties.

He said de-registering political parties would not do the country any good because it amounted to dissipation of energy, non-productive and a retrogressive venture.

“Party deregistration is retrogressive and an antithetic to democratic development and therefore must no longer be allowed in our statute book,” he said.

The chairman said that a country like the United Kingdom had about 300 political parties with only three of them represented in the House of Commons.

He added that in spite of the development, the other political parties had continued to exist and contributing their quota to the development of the UK even though they did not win elections.

He added that the UK had five members of parliament that refused to attend parliament, “yet their parties were allow to function”.

He said that many political parties in that country were unable to win elections, but that none of them had been deregistered.

Appealing that Nigeria should be emulated the British, Tanko added that there were 100 different political parties in the United States, with only the Democrats and the Republicans remaining dominant.

He said: “Then, there are several ‘third’ parties, none of which has won any seat in the Congress which is made up of the Senate and House of Representatives.

“None of the third parties has been deregistered for not winning a seat.”