Ahead of the 2019 general elections, registered political parties in the country have adopted a revised code of conduct to guide their operations before, during and after the conduct of the general elections.
The adoption and signing was witnessed by the National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in charge of Election and Party Monitoring, Prof. Anthonia Okorie-Simbine.
The leadership of the political parties had earlier met for two days to review and validate the code with the assistance of the Policy Development Centre of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
The All Progressives Congress was among the 54 political parties that signed the revised code, while the Peoples Democratic Parry (PDP) and 14 parties were conspicuously absent at the event.
The signing of the code of conduct came under the auspices of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Prof. Okoosi-Simbine, who represented the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, assured the parties of the commitment of the Commission to ensure a level playing field for all political parties in the conduct of elections in the country.
Simbine said INEC remained committed to strengthening its internal systems and providing a level playing field for all political parties and candidates by ensuring the sustenance of a credible electoral environment.
She said that political parties as principal actors in the electoral environment will no doubt play a significant role towards the success of the 2019 general elections and beyond.
According to her, “it is vital that political party leaders take their commitment to the code of conduct beyond the official signing of the document by translating the provisions of the code to visible actions that impact positively towards sustaining and enhancing the gains of Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
“By contributing to and signing the code of conduct, political parties have indeed committed to a pact with Nigerians that their activities will, going forward, be consistent with international best practices and enhance the confidence of citizens in our evolving democratic culture.”
Simbine said INEC had been a significant partner at various stages of the evolution and development of the code of conduct with the technical and financial support of international development partners, particularly the UNDP/DGD project first, and now the European Center for Electoral Support (ECES).
She stressed that, “Although the principal objective of having a code of conduct for political parties was centered on the need to have a set of mutually agreed and acceptable behaviour and best practices that guide the conduct of political parties, their candidates and supporters, before, during and after elections, the code also became the instrument for the establishment of IPAC which without doubt, now plays a significant role as the umbrella body of all registered political parties.
“It is in this context that the Commission has remained committed to both encouraging political parties to abide by the tenants of the code of conduct as well as actively support the activities of IPAC towards attaining the ideal electoral environment that is characterised by a general commitment of all stakeholders to the entrenchment of free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.”
She asked the political parties to use the umbrella of IPAC to exert peer pressure for the adoption of best practices in key areas including the promotion of internal democracy, provision of expanded roles for disadvantaged social groups particularly women, the youth and persons living with disabilities, as well as deliberate commitment by leaders of political parties to the rule of law and strict compliance with the provisions of respective political parties’ constitutions.
The code of conduct sets the parameters of acceptable behavior for political parties, their candidates and their supporters throughout the electoral cycle.
