Electoral Process and National Integration in Nigeria: An Analysis of 2019 General Election

Abstract

The study examined electoral process and national integration in Nigeria taking cognize of the 2019 general election. The main objectives of the study were; to investigate the link between the outcome of the 2019 general elections and national integration in Nigeria; to examine the influence of ethnic nationalities in the political mobilization and conduct and outcome of the 2019 general elections; and to establish the relationship between voting pattern and regional inclinations. The study adopted the Elite theoretical framework because issues of elections, political parties and governance are decided, dominated and championed by the elites. Furthermore, this paper employed the Ex Post Facto research design, using data gathered from secondary sources. By this, data was surveyed from scholarly journals, texts, periodicals, newspapers, magazines, internet website and other published materials. It was analyzed via content and historical analysis which helped to make deductions leading to findings which amongst others revealed that the electoral process in Nigeria has been characterized by elite manipulation of the process, ballot snatching, and late arrival of electoral material, severe operational and transparency shortcomings, and electoral security problems. The study recommends among others that there should be a formulation of policies and programmes to re-orientate those that are divided along ethnic lines in order to promote good relations among the different ethnic groups in Nigeria.