Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria

Malaysia and Nigeria are multi-religious, multi-ethnic, Muslim-majority democratic countries. The Malaysian system is based on the parliamentary system while Nigeria operates the presidential system. Both countries are federations where elected official run the federal and state governments respect...

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Main Authors:	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin, Oba, Abdulmumini A
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Language:	English
Published:	2011
Subjects:	KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/16705/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/16705/1/THE_LEGAL_STATUS_OF_RACE_AND_RELIGIOUS_BASED_POLITICAL_PARTIES_IN_MALAYSIA_AND_NIGERIA.pdf

id	iium-16705
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-167052012-01-26T01:17:19Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/16705/ Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia Malaysia and Nigeria are multi-religious, multi-ethnic, Muslim-majority democratic countries. The Malaysian system is based on the parliamentary system while Nigeria operates the presidential system. Both countries are federations where elected official run the federal and state governments respectively. Both countries are multi-party states where political parties of various ideological persuasions compete for power. The central question is to what extent does the law allows the existence of racial and religious-based political parties in both countries? This paper explores this theme based on analyses of the constitutions, statutes and case law applicable in the two countries. The study found that the legal status of religion in the state and the status of religion in the electoral process in both countries differ. In Malaysia, Islam is the state religion although the country is a modern nation state and not an Islamic state ran along strict Islamic lines. In Malaysia, electoral laws are silent on the role of religion therefore it is possible to form political parties which are aligned with religious ideologies. The attitude in Malaysia is based on the recognition of the important role religion plays in the identity and aspirations of its peoples. In Nigeria, the constitution disallows the state from having a state religion and prohibits political parties from having ethnic or religious affiliations. The study found further that the different approaches in both countries have their advantages and disadvantages, and that they represent competing approaches to national unity and national integration. 2011 Conference or Workshop Item NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/16705/1/THE_LEGAL_STATUS_OF_RACE_AND_RELIGIOUS_BASED_POLITICAL_PARTIES_IN_MALAYSIA_AND_NIGERIA.pdf Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin and Oba, Abdulmumini A (2011) Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria. In: Conference on Democracy and Elections in the Muslim World , 7 and 8 December, 2011, International Islamic University, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur . (Unpublished)
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
topic	KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia
spellingShingle	KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria
description	Malaysia and Nigeria are multi-religious, multi-ethnic, Muslim-majority democratic countries. The Malaysian system is based on the parliamentary system while Nigeria operates the presidential system. Both countries are federations where elected official run the federal and state governments respectively. Both countries are multi-party states where political parties of various ideological persuasions compete for power. The central question is to what extent does the law allows the existence of racial and religious-based political parties in both countries? This paper explores this theme based on analyses of the constitutions, statutes and case law applicable in the two countries. The study found that the legal status of religion in the state and the status of religion in the electoral process in both countries differ. In Malaysia, Islam is the state religion although the country is a modern nation state and not an Islamic state ran along strict Islamic lines. In Malaysia, electoral laws are silent on the role of religion therefore it is possible to form political parties which are aligned with religious ideologies. The attitude in Malaysia is based on the recognition of the important role religion plays in the identity and aspirations of its peoples. In Nigeria, the constitution disallows the state from having a state religion and prohibits political parties from having ethnic or religious affiliations. The study found further that the different approaches in both countries have their advantages and disadvantages, and that they represent competing approaches to national unity and national integration.
format	Conference or Workshop Item
author	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A
author_facet	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A
author_sort	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin
title	Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria
title_short	Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria
title_full	Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria
title_fullStr	Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed	Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria
title_sort	legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in malaysia and nigeria
publishDate	2011
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/16705/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/16705/1/THE_LEGAL_STATUS_OF_RACE_AND_RELIGIOUS_BASED_POLITICAL_PARTIES_IN_MALAYSIA_AND_NIGERIA.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:25:28Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:25:28Z
_version_	1777408386710634496

Legal and constitutional status of race-based and religious-based political parties in Malaysia and Nigeria

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