Cross-Carpeting Undermines Multi-Party Democracy — CUPP

 The Coalition of United Po­litical Parties (CUPP) says defection from one political party to the other under­mines multi-party democ­racy.

National Secretary of CUPP, Mr. Peter Ameh, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

Ameh attributed the re­curring phenomenon of defecting from one political party to another to lack of free and fair elections.

“This trend has under­mined the development of multi-party democracy in Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, most of the politicians who defect to the ruling party often do so because they believe it will guarantee them elec­toral victory.

Ameh also described the issue of defection as a reflec­tion of the lack of principles among politicians.

“When elected, officials defect to a party they pre­viously contested against. It undermines the trust of their constituents and the integrity of the electoral process,” he said.

The CUPP national secre­tary quoted Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as addressing the issue of defections from one political party to the other.

“It stipulates that legisla­tors’ seats will be declared vacant if they defect from the party on which they were elected.

“However, this provision is weakened by Section 109(2)(g) which requires the presiding officer of the National Assembly or state Assembly to declare the seat vacant.

“This loophole allows ruling parties to benefit from defections without consequences. To curb this trend, it is essential to abol­ish Section 109(2)(g) from the constitution,” he said.