From the Ruling Party to the Opposition Political Party: Crisis of Internal Party Democracy and 2015 Elections in Nigeria

Abstract

Generally, Nigerian political parties in the present republic have been hampered by crisis of internal democracy thus, undermining their political leadership recruitment function. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a good example of one of these Nigerian political parties that lacks internal democracy. In fact, PDP was a leviathan. The 2015 Election symbolised a contest between David and Goliath. The electoral outcome is that PDP has transformed from a ruling party to an opposition party. The study, by relying on the theory of relative autonomy of the state and secondary sources, concluded that lack of internal democracy was a necessary condition for PDP's poor performance in the 2015 General Elections, and thus, there is a relationship between the crisis of internal democracy and 2015 electoral outcomes. Also, the paper noted that PDP authoritarianism deepened the crisis of internal democracy in Nigeria and that this authoritarian character of the former ruling PDP was a reflection of the authoritarian character of the Nigerian state which is currently shaping the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). The study is essentially qualitative, historical, and inductive.