Lagos — The People's Democratic Party (PDP) top leadership is doing something that the party is hardly known for: admitting that its shoddy handling of internal elections in many states is responsible for the crisis rocking the party. In Anambra State, for example, the party's recent state congress to pick its governorship flag-bearer ended in a stalemate. That has triggered insinuations.

But one thing is obvious: since the selection of former Central Bank governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the party's governorship candidate for next year's election, the party has not known peace in Anambra state. Litigations and counter litigations have trailed the exercise. When Soludo's 78-year old father was kidnapped recently, many linked the incident to the PDP crisis in the state.

He has since been released. Yet the storm over the choice of the party's governorship candidate is far from over. Many disenchanted contestants have vowed to continue to kick against the way and manner Soludo was picked. They say it was an imposition by the party's national working committee (NWC) which is empowered to pick a governorship candidate in the wake of a stalemate at the congress.

It is against this backdrop that the recent statement by President Umaru Yar 'Adua blaming the party's NWC for the Anambra crisis deserves serious attention. In a speech read on his behalf by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan at a public forum in Abuja, the President berated the NWC for its inability to conduct a credible congress in Anambra State. According to the President, the crisis in Anambra is largely the fault of the NWC.

It was obvious that the President was not pleased with the way and manner the congress was handled. But even worse was the arrogant attitude of the NWC to the aggrieved parties.

For a party that is expected to lead by example, the conduct of the Anambra congress was indeed far below democratic standards. We agree with the President on the shoddiness of that congress and the controversial role played by the NWC. When the foundation of any election is faulty much good may not come out of it. Any wonder then that the outcome of the congress has been mired in acrimonious disputes.

The President was right on target when he spoke the home truth to his own party by reminding its leaders that the conduct of the PDP in next year's governorship polls will be a defining moment for the party's contribution to the enthronement of democracy. If the election goes wrong, the President said, the PDP national working committee will take a lion share of the blame.

While we commend the president for his forthrightness, we sincerely hope it is not mere rhetoric. The PDP is clearly the biggest party in the country. What it does or fails to do has a domino effect that reverberates across the country. If it cannot take the medicine that its number one leader is prescribing for it, then we wonder what will become of democracy in this country.

The PDP owes a duty as the ruling party at the centre to set its house in order and to respect the rules of democracy in which the majority should be allowed to have their way and the minority, their say. Anything other than this is dictatorship and a recipe for anarchy.

From the president's concern, the Anambra election, which gathering storm we have warned against on this page, is truly a test case of the 2011 elections at all levels in terms of security and transparency. The stakes are getting higher, and the politicians more desperate. We believe the solution to all that threat is transparency and a level playing field for all contestants.