A Constitutional Lawyer, Jirgba Terfa Jirgba, has said political parties cannot arbitrarily replace candidates who emerge victorious from valid primaries, stressing that the power of parties to choose candidates must be exercised within the law.
Jirgba, Esq., in a legal submission on the relationship between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties and candidates, said INEC neither nominates candidates for political parties nor dictates whom parties must sponsor.
He, however, maintained that parties are bound by the Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC regulations and timetable, as well as their own constitutions and electoral guidelines.
Jirgba Esq. said that once an aspirant emerges as the winner of a valid primary conducted in accordance with the law and the party’s rules, the party cannot simply disregard the outcome at will.
“Any challenge to the process or the candidate’s eligibility must be properly established and determined through the prescribed procedure,” he said.
The constitutional lawyer further cautioned that party appeal panels could not act beyond the powers conferred on them by the party’s constitution, electoral guidelines and the law.
He said an appeal panel had no power to remove a duly nominated candidate arbitrarily.
On candidate substitution, Jirgba said the process was regulated by the Electoral Act and other applicable laws, stressing that a political party could not replace a validly nominated candidate simply because it wished to do so.
He noted that substitution, particularly after relevant statutory deadlines, must fall within circumstances and procedures permitted by law.
The lawyer also stressed that aspirants do not lose their legal rights by participating in a party’s nomination process.
He said an aspirant affected by a party’s violation of its own rules or the law could approach the courts for appropriate relief.
According to him, while INEC does not select candidates for political parties, its records and evidence relating to the conduct of primaries and submission of candidates are relevant in court when determining whether a party complied with the electoral framework.
Jirgba summed up the legal position by saying that political parties have the right to choose their candidates, but that right “must be exercised according to law and its own rules.”
