Deregistered parties to form new group

    
Political parties not affiliated with the People’s Democratic Party or the All Progressives Congress party, are to form a new alliance known as Democratic Electoral Alliance.

This was made known by the former Peoples Redemption Party flag bearer, Balarabe Musa, in a phone interview with our correspondent.

Musa, who spoke on the ongoing battle between the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Fresh Democratic Party over  the deregistration of 28 political parties, noted that while the case  was  still  in court,  the affected political parties  would not  take part in the 2015 elections.

He said, “If INEC appeals and moves the case to the Supreme Court, we will not register for the 2015 elections. But Nigerians should remember that we are registered voters and we can use our votes to hold things up.”

The Second Republic Governor of Kaduna State added that the parties had instead decided on an alternative course of action.

He said, “We have decided to form what we call Democratic Electoral Alliance. It will be made up of all the parties that are not merged with PDP and APC. The parties will then choose their candidate for the 2015 elections. The candidate can come from any of the parties in the alliance.”

Musa also explained that the alliance would not be a political alliance since the members would not be made of politicians alone. “The alliance will include all political parties, whether registered or unregistered. We will persuade the civil society to join, so it will not be a political alliance but a democratic one,” he said.

The House of Representatives, in one of its sessions earlier in the week, had  proposed an amendment to the 1999 constitution, stating as one of its provisions, the deregistration of political parties that are unable to  win  at the presidential, state, local government and ward elections or failed to  secure any seat in the federal legislature.

The political  parties involved in the current deregistration battle with INEC  are the Peoples Redemption Party, the National Reformation Party, the National Advance Party, the Democratic Peoples Alliance, African Liberation Party, Action Party of Nigeria, African Political System, Better Nigeria Progressive Party, Congress for Democratic Change, Community Party of Nigeria, Freedom Party of Nigeria, Hope Democratic Party, Justice Party, Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria, Movement for Democracy and Justice, and the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy.

Others are the New Democrats, National Majority Democratic Party, the National Movement of Progressive Party, the National Solidarity Democratic Party, the Progressive Action Congress, the Peoples Mandate Party, the Peoples Progressive Party, the Republican Party of Nigeria, the United National Party for Development and the United Nigeria Peoples Party.

Copyright PUNCH.