Myth or Reality: Evaluating the Impact of Electoral Integrity on Democratic Legitimacy in Nigeria from 1999 to 2023 within the West African Context.

Although the Nigerian government has introduced a range of technological innovations between 2015 and 2023, including the Smart Card Reader, Bi-modal Accreditation Voter System (BVAS), the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), and Result Transmission Platforms to curb electoral malpractice, concerns about electoral credibility persist. This study aims to assess the extent to which these technologies enhanced electoral credibility in Nigeria’s 2015, 2019, and 2023 general elections. Drawing on institutional theory as the analytical lens, the study employs a documentary secondary analysis of journal articles, election reports, academic literature, and international election observer reports to evaluate the performance and limitations of electoral technologies. The findings reveal that the introduction of these technologies has reduced manipulations and fraud, including multiple voting, inflated results, and related irregularities, thereby contributing to improved transparency and electoral integrity. However, the study also identifies persistent constraints, such as infrastructure deficits, political interference, technical failures, weak institutional frameworks, insecurity, poor logistics, and pervasive vote buying, which collectively undermine the effectiveness and credibility-enhancing potential of these innovations. Despite these challenges, the 2023 general elections recorded notable progress in the deployment and acceptance of electoral technologies. The study concludes that although technology is necessary for improving the electoral process, it is insufficient to guarantee electoral credibility without robust political will, comprehensive legal and institutional reforms, and active public engagement. The study contributes to the literature on electoral governance and technology by highlighting the conditions under which technological innovations can genuinely enhance electoral credibility and by underscoring the need for civic education, transparent and efficient technological deployment, and stronger institutions to support democratic consolidation.

General Background: The integrity of a nation's leadership is fundamentally shaped by the credibility of its electoral process. A free, secret, and fair presidential election ensures the emergence of leaders who govern with professionalism, transparency, and accountability. However, the effectiveness of electoral institutions is often compromised by political influence and material interests. Specific Background: In Indonesia, electoral integrity is upheld by institutions such as the General Election Commission (KPU), the Election Supervisory Body (BAWASLU), and the Honorary Council for General Election Organizers (DKPP). Despite their mandate, these institutions face significant challenges related to political interference, which undermines their ability to conduct elections transparently and fairly. Knowledge Gap: While numerous studies have examined election integrity, limited research specifically addresses the moral and professional challenges faced by electoral institutions in Indonesia. The extent to which political and economic pressures affect the neutrality of election organizers remains an area requiring deeper investigation. Aims: This study aims to analyze the professionalism of electoral organizers in Indonesia’s presidential elections by assessing legal frameworks, ethical considerations, and institutional challenges. Results: Findings indicate that electoral officials must uphold strong moral principles and legal accountability to withstand internal and external pressures. Ensuring free and fair elections requires institutional integrity, which is currently threatened by undue influence from powerful political entities. Novelty: This research highlights the ethical dilemmas faced by election organizers, emphasizing the need for robust legal and institutional safeguards to protect electoral integrity. Unlike previous studies, it provides an in-depth analysis of both internal and external challenges affecting electoral professionalism. Implications: Strengthening legal mechanisms and enhancing institutional independence are crucial to maintaining the credibility of electoral processes. This study underscores the necessity of professional and ethical electoral organizers in fostering democratic governance and national stability. Highlights: Electoral Integrity – Fair elections ensure accountable and transparent leadership. Institutional Challenges – Political influence threatens election organizers’ neutrality. Strengthening Governance – Legal safeguards protect democracy and electoral integrity. Keywords: Electoral integrity, election organizers, political interference, professional ethics, democratic governance.

This chapter considers “electoral integrity” as a legal concept in general and, in particular, its actual and potential uses in constitutions and election laws. Electoral integrity has been widely cited and applied in the political science literature since the launch of the Electoral Integrity Project and the early scholarship. It has had less purchase in the legal scholarship on comparative constitutional and election law. This chapter considers electoral integrity as a legal concept and identifies relevant features of its definition for its application: (1) it is a standard for evaluating integrity based in actual behavior and practices; (2) it is focused on the electoral cycle rather than the specific event of the election; (3) it is an international rather than a domestic standard; and (4) it is closely tied to procedural definitions of democracy. With this conceptual work in mind, the chapter then traces the role of electoral integrity as a legal concept in constitutional design, the boundaries between election laws and constitutions, and judicial review. The section on judicial review considers two particularly fertile areas for the application of electoral integrity as a legal concept in judicial reasoning: the resolution of disputed elections and review of the constitutionality of voter identification (ID) laws. The chapter concludes by considering some future areas of research if electoral integrity is to be used as a legal concept.

The fast-growing artificial intelligence has revolutionized most aspects of political life, such as providing information to citizens, governing, persuading, and organizing collective action by states. Political systems all over the world have been entering the era of an irreparable computational acceleration one which is not solely characterized by technological development, but by its imminent contact with human psychology, mass discourse, and democratic forms. The connection between AI and political science is not a marginal topic of study any longer; it is necessary to learn more about how modern systems of government, voting patterns, and information space interact. This book was written in order to raise this transformational moment. It is one of the most thorough studies to date of how AI is changing political processes, actors and institutions through interdisciplinary lenses that bring in the perspectives of machine learning, political communication, psychology, and governance studies. The book unites the current state of art across its chapters into deep learning, computational propaganda, microtargeting, generative synthetic media, graph machine learning, and reinforcement learning in the electoral setting both the possibilities and the grave damage posed by the technologies. As AI has made predictive algorithms richer, more reactive tools to respond to the public, and offered new dimensions and applications of civic engagement, it has also presented new threats: deepfakes, disinformation pipelines, algorithmic echo chambers, the loss of privacy, and novel means of psychological and geopolitical manipulation. These are complex problems of multidisciplinary nature which require multidisciplinary solutions. It is thus a book that does not merely focus on technical mechanisms but stresses on an ethical framework, regulatory pathways, global governance requirements as well as the societal implication of the computational political systems. This piece of work has fourfold objectives: To capture the technological basis of the AI-based political analysis and communication. To appraise risks and vulnerabilities critically such as adversarial propaganda, synthetic media, and opaque algorithms. In order to measure the actual effects on institution of democracy, citizen trust, election integrity, and groupthink. To map out research imperatives in the future of scholars, policy, technologies, and civil society-to more resilient, open and fair democratic ecosystems. At the birth of a new age, where even the reality of politics becomes algorithmically generated, detected, manipulated, or safeguarded, it is important that scholars and professionals gain a better comprehension of these changes. It is in the interest of that endeavour that this book should be presented as a demanding, non-technical, and visionary manual to students, researchers, and policy participants striving to adjust to the intricacies of AI in politics. I am hoping that the points made here will stimulate more conversations and responsible innovation as well as create a background of the democratic resilience in the age of artificial intelligence.

Elections in a Communist Party Regime: Vietnam's Electoral Integrity Reforms and Challenges

List of tables and figures Preface and acknowledgments Notes about contributors Introduction 1. Introduction: Challenges of Electoral Integrity, Pippa Norris When do elections fail? Standards and evidence 2. Assessing Elections, Avery Davies-Roberts and David J. Carroll 3. Methods and Evidence, Pippa Norris, Jorgen Elklit and Andrew Reynolds 4. Expert Judgments, Ferran Martinez i Coma and Richard W. Frank 5. Election Monitoring, Ursula Daxecker and Gerald Schneider Do Institutions Matter? Managing elections 6. Constitutions and Election Management, Svitlana Chernykh, Zachary Elkins, James Melton and Tom Ginsburg 7. Electoral Management in Central America, Antonio Ugues, Jr. 8. Election Management in Britain, Toby S. James 9. Investing in Electoral Management, Alistair Clark Does lack of integrity undermine legitimacy? 10. EMB Performance and African Perceptions of Electoral Integrity, Nicholas N. Kerr 11. Electoral Integrity and Democratic Legitimacy in Africa, Robert Mattes 12. Electoral Trust in Latin America, Arturo Maldonado and Mitchell Seligson 13. American Attitudes towards Election Fraud, Thad E. Hall and Charles Stewart Conclusions: What Is To Be Done? Policy Interventions 14. Lessons From the Ground: What Have We Learnt? What Do We Do Next? Roundtable Discussion with Eric Bjornlund, David Carroll, Staffan Darnolf, Annette Fath-Lihic, Aleida Ferreyra, Betilde Munoz-Pogossian, Pippa Norris, and Chad Vickery Index

This chapter considers the influence of compulsory voting on electoral integrity and the overall legitimacy of the political system. Reducing electoral abuse and improving electoral integrity were among the most important reasons for the introduction of compulsory attendance at the polls in many states. It is therefore worth considering whether making electoral participation mandatory improves the conduct of elections and thereby improves confidence in the political process. This chapter tests the hypothesis on the basis of case studies as well as aggregate data. It also considers whether mandatory voting enhances the legitimacy of the democratic process overall.

Background: Electoral integrity has emerged as a critical concern in contemporary democratic discourse, particularly amid global democratic backsliding. Indonesia's democratic trajectory shows significant decline, with the 2025 V-Dem report placing it in the 'grey zone', no longer meeting minimum standards of electoral democracy. Public trust in electoral processes fundamentally depends on the organizational governance and neutrality of Election Management Bodies (EMBs).Objective: This study examines how organizational governance and bureaucratic neutrality of election management apparatus influence election quality in Indonesia, employing an integrative framework that connects institutional structures with practical implementation challenges.Method: This qualitative literature review analyzed 32 academic sources from Google Scholar and Scopus databases. Thematic analysis was conducted using a reflexive approach, classifying literature based on institutional structure, bureaucratic behavior, and political interference dynamics.Findings and Implications: The study reveals that election bureaucracy faces structural tensions between procedural rigidity and democratic responsiveness. Bureaucratic politicization, institutional erosion, and inadequate sanction mechanisms significantly compromise electoral integrity. Inter-institutional dynamics between KPU, Bawaslu, and DKPP create coordination challenges that affect election quality.Conclusion: Comprehensive institutional reforms are essential, including restoring independent civil service oversight, strengthening sanction mechanisms, harmonizing fragmented regulations, and enhancing professional capacity of EMBs to restore Indonesia's electoral integrity.

The Global Commission on Election, Democracy and Security defines election integrity as “election that is based on the democratic principles of universal suffrage and political equality as reflected in international standards and agreements, and is professional, impartial, and transparent in its preparation and administration throughout the electoral cycle”. Elections with integrity are the keyto preserving stability, peace and security not only at a national, but also at European level. The perspectives of the EU integration of the Western Balkans have been continuously viewed through the lens of the European security and stability. From the viewpoint of election integrity, the 1993 Copenhagen accession criteria require from the candidate countries to achieve stability of institutionsguaranteeing democracy and the rule of law. The Western Balkan countries are experiencing a long-time struggle to satisfy the said EU democratic criteria. The paper aims to shed light on the 1993 Copenhagen criteria with respect to the obligation to conduct elections with integrity and discusses the EU support modalities for ensuring election integrity in the Western Balkans, as well assynergies created with other regional organizations in this regard. The paper concludes that regardless of the EU integration perspective of the Western Balkan countries, the citizens of the region deserve elections with integrity comparable to those of the EU countries.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between fiscal autonomy, financial sustainability, and democratic legitimacy in Mexico's 32 states during the period 2018–2024, identifying how fiscal conditions affect citizen participation and institutional trust. Theoretical Framework: The study is based on the theory of fiscal federalism, subnational financial sustainability, and contemporary approaches to democratic legitimacy. It considers the contributions of Cabral, Castillo, and Hernández-Trillo (2021), Gleißner et al. (2022), and Monsivais-Carrillo (2020), among others, who highlight the interdependence between fiscal performance and citizen trust. Method: A quantitative, non-experimental, longitudinal design was applied. Official data from the SHCP, INEGI, and INE were used. The variables analyzed were: fiscal autonomy (own revenues/total revenues), state debt, and voter turnout index. The analysis included descriptive statistics and Spearman correlations. Results and Discussion: A positive correlation was found between fiscal autonomy and public debt (ρ=0.582; p=0.001), and negative correlations between both and citizen participation (ρ=-0.368 and ρ=-0.420). The states with the highest indebtedness showed lower voter turnout, which highlights tensions between financial performance and democratic legitimacy. Implications of the research: The findings provide useful empirical evidence to strengthen fiscal federalism and subnational transparency policies. Originality/Value: The study offers an unprecedented longitudinal analysis that integrates public finances and democratic legitimacy in the Mexican context.

This article comes about with the objective of analyzing the electoral integrity and the quality of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, considering the case of Mozambique. The main argument that guides this article is that, in the case of Mozambique, electoral cycles are characterized by problems of electoral integrity, more due to the political centralism adopted by the ruling party, Frelimo. To support this argument, can be advanced a premise according to which the political centralism adopted by Frelimo was inherited from the colony, from the militarism of the struggles for independence and perfected in the socialist period. From a qualitative and multidisciplinary approach centered on African history and political science, this article concludes that, although Mozambique is formally a democratic country, its political practices denote that it is a country with problems of electoral integrity.

Electoral integrity faces many challenges in America. To understand these issues, the first part of this chapter starts by identifying the major concerns arising during and after the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, including issues about fraud, fakery, and meddling. To place these issues in a broader perspective and establish whether systematic evidence justifies these sorts of anxieties, the second part clarifies the core concept of electoral integrity as the key yardstick used to evaluate elections around the world and outlines the sequential steps in the electoral cycle, as well as how this concept can best be measured. The third part demonstrates that many countries face multiple challenges in meeting international standards of electoral integrity. Compared with similar affluent democracies, American contests perform particularly poorly. The analysis also uses expert and public evaluations to diagnose the electoral performance of all 50 U.S. states. To understand the reasons for these ratings in more depth, the fourth part outlines the chapters contained in the rest of the book. Contributors analyze evidence for a series of contemporary challenges facing American elections: the weaknesses of electoral laws, photo ID requirements for electoral registers, gerrymandering district boundaries, fake news, the lack of transparency, and the hodgepodge of inconsistent state regulations. The conclusion sets these challenges in comparative context and draws out the broader policy lessons for improving electoral integrity and thereby strengthening American democracy.

The management of elections is a complex task because electoral integrity can be challenged across the electoral cycle. Therefore, organizations with mandates or interests to protect electoral integrity should be well-versed in managing risks to electoral integrity. This Guide draws on the methodology devised by International IDEA’s 2018 Electoral Risk Management Tool: Internal Factors Guide to outline key internal (process-related or endogenous) risk factors to electoral processes in West Africa. The focus is on five case countries: Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone and Togo. They highlight 28 internal factors clustered into different chapters reflecting seven phases of the electoral cycle. The author provides an introduction and empirical cases from the region for each factor. Next, they propose observable indicators and methodology for data gathering and analysis. Optimally, this Guide should be used with the Guide on External Risk Factors to Electoral Processes in West Africa (2023–2024), which covers external (context-related or exogenous) risk factors. Both Guides are part of a broader International IDEA’s Electoral Management Tool (ERM Tool) package.

This chapter outlines the core concept and measure of electoral integrity, the key yardstick used by the Electoral Integrity Project (EIP) to evaluate free and fair elections. EIP defines the idea of electoral integrity as the presence of a set of agreed-upon international conventions and global norms, applying universally to all countries worldwide through the election cycle, including during the pre-election period, the campaign, on polling day, and its aftermath. For evidence, EIP developed an expert survey of Perceptions of Electoral Integrity (PEI), which gathers information covering all independent nation-states around the world that have held direct (popular) elections for the national parliament or presidential elections, excluding micro-states (with populations below 100,000). The 213 elections in 153 nations analyzed in the latest release used in this study, PEI-4.5, fall within the period from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016.

Background: The pervasive rise of deepfakes and disinformation poses a profound threat to democratic institutions, especially during electoral processes. In Nigeria, where electoral integrity is frequently undermined by misinformation and politically motivated propaganda, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a viable frontier for safeguarding democratic values. Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the multifaceted role of AI technologies in combating the dissemination of deepfakes and disinformation during Nigerian elections, and also enhancing the spread of these malicious media contents. Methods: The systematic literature review was adopted by the researchers to draw lessons from existing literature and analyse same to find patterns that meet the research objectives. This was also to draw lessons from the past general elections in Nigeria considering relevant literature, case studies, and theoretical models. Results: This study’s results show the role AI played in aiding and fighting disinformation and deep fake, and how the country can leverage on this to improve future elections as preparations are on toward the conduct of the 2027 election. The study also shows that while AI holds considerable promise in identifying and mitigating false information, its success is largely on the role of fact checking organisations who have invested so much resource in combating the menace to improve the integrity and credibility of elections. Conclusion: The researchers conclude by proposing workable and practicable solutions that if applied by electoral institutions and stakeholders would go a long way in ensuring a sustained and healthy political climate during elections Novelty: Taking a cue from existing literature, this study provides insights as to ways the challenge of deepfakes can be tackled in Nigeria.