Vote-Buying and Democratic Governance in Nigeria

Abstract

This work is an analysis of “Vote Buying and Democracy in Nigeria”. Vote-buying in Nigeria is implicitly becoming an accepted practice with the political class, electoral body, security agencies as well as the electorate contributing to its growth. Democracy entails majority rule and gives ultimate power to the people, among other things. This is demonstrated during elections where political leaders are chosen by the people, through the ballot. This democratic process in Nigeria is altered and negatively influenced by several factors. Vote-buying, a monetary and material inducement that compels voters to vote contrary to their choices, is a disturbing trend that gets consolidated by each passing election in Nigeria. This study examines vote-buying as a dominant-negative factor militating against democratic governance in Nigeria. It is observed in this study that vote-buying is strengthened by bad governance. There is the need to amend Nigeria’s electoral laws to truly make the electoral body independent from the executive, to give it a neutral disposition. There are extant constitutional provisions that criminalize vote-buying, therefore these laws should be enforced, irrespective of the status of the offenders.