Public Perceptions of Media Role in Electoral Reforms in Nigeria

Abstract

The paper examined public perception of media role in electoral reforms in Nigeria. Electoral reform is a crucial step for a free and fair election. The research’s main goal was to find out how people in Nigeria think the media should play a part in the country’s continual efforts to modernize its voting system. The corresponding literature has been examined. The data was gathered by means of a questionnaire. There were a total of 384 questionnaires sent out to voters. The results of the findings showed that the public had high level of perception of media role in electoral reforms in Nigeria. This is because, the general belief is that media content on electoral reforms had not only engendered high interest in political matters among the general public, but had largely spurred calls for electoral reforms in Nigeria. The result also showed that the media give attention to issues of electoral reforms; this made the public have high level perception on the contributions of the media to electoral reforms in Nigeria. However, to preserve the present perception of media contents on electoral reforms by the populace, media practitioners and regulators must continuously ensure that media content and reportage must be done regularly, objectively and with high level of credibility.