Elections In Nigeria Research Articles

Resurging Prebendalism, Clientelism and Candidate Endorsement Syndrome: A Critique of the 2019 Presidential Election in Nigeria

Resurging Prebendalism, Clientelism and Candidate Endorsement Syndrome: A Critique of the 2019 Presidential Election in Nigeria

The Effects of Electoral violence on Human Rights violation: An overview of the 2015 General elections in Nigeria

The Effects of Electoral violence on Human Rights violation: An overview of the 2015 General elections in Nigeria

Television News Coverage of the 2019 Presidential Election in Nigeria: A Content Analysis Approach

In the Nigerian context, the broadcast media have continued to participate as active stakeholders in the electoral process. They produce various adverts, jingles, programmes and shows that aim at encouraging people to exercise their voting rights, reject electoral violence, and advocate peaceful elections. They also play important roles in social sensitization and mobilization ahead of the elections with many broadcast stations hosting debates for political aspirants. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of the programme's contents of NTA’s Political Update on voters’ participation and voting patterns in the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. The study adopted mixed methods design of the exploratory type. Sample comprised 185 respondents, including key stakeholders drawn from six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Data were collected using three instruments; NTA and FRCN Network Programme Contents Analysis Checklist (NFNProCAC); Voters’ Electoral Participation Questionnaire (VEPQ) and Key Electioneering Personalities Interview Schedule (KEPIS). Content analysis data were analyzed quantitatively, while survey data were analyzed using SPSS V25, descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that NTA’s Political Update adequately featured voter education contents prior to the 2019 General Election in Nigeria; also, majority of the respondents were regular viewers and listeners and were adequately exposed to the station contents of NTA, featuring more of voters’ education contents. Further, findings revealed that there was an overall significant relationship in the electorates’ perception of featuring voters’ education contents on NTA programmes. Lastly, more voters participated during the last general elections as a result of their exposure to NTA network programmes prior to the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. The study recommended that tv stations should increase the strength of nationwide programmes for effective voters’ education.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN THE 2015 AND 2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA AND THE ROLE OF SECURITY AGENCIES: PROSPECTS FOR FUTURE ELECTIONS

Democratic political system is one which makes the government responsive and accountable to the people. Election on the other hand is the fulcrum of democracy hence; election related violence cannot be discussed without the role of security agencies and various non-state actors in the elections. This is a prerequisite for maintenance of law and order that brings about stability and enhances national security. Nigerian democracy since inception has been a subject of controversy with periodic elections consistently marred with issues of violent crises and insecurity. The 2015 and 2019 general elections in Nigeria were no different, the two elections recorded the height of ethno-religious tension in the history of Nigerian election as well as ethno-religious violence that threatened the indivisibility of the entire country. While the 2015 was relatively peaceful despite the violence tension it created in the pre-election campaigning, the 2019 elections were marred with violence. More so, the elections were held in the most insecure atmosphere with the Boko Haram conflict and the herders/farmers conflict going in the northeast and north central zones simultaneously. In addition, security during elections was a source of concern. The Police and other security agencies were often accused of partiality during electoral processes. The paper carries out a comparative analysis of electoral violence during 2015 and 2019 general elections. Drawing data from both primary and secondary sources such as in-depth interviews, key informant interviews (KII), questionnaires and extant literatures

Optimizing sentiment analysis of Nigerian 2023 presidential election using two-stage residual long short term memory

Sentiment analysis is the process of recognizing positive or negative attitudes in text. This technique makes use of computational linguistics, text analysis, and natural language processing. The 2023 presidential election in Nigeria is a significant event for the country, as it will determine the leader of the nation for the next four years. As such, it is important to understand the sentiment of the public towards the different candidates. In this research, we aimed to understand the sentiment of the public towards the three main candidates in the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, Atiku, Tinubu, and Obi, by conducting a sentiment analysis on tweets related to the candidates. We used the long short-term memory (LSTM), peephole long short term memory (PLSTM), and two-stage residual long short-term memory (TSRLSTM) models to classify tweets as positive, neutral, or negative. Our dataset consisted of a large number of tweets that were preprocessed to remove noise and irrelevant information. Results showed that TSRLSTM performed excellently well in classifying the tweets and in identifying the sentiment towards each candidate individually. Our findings provide valuable insights into the public's opinion on the candidates and their campaign strategies, which can be useful for researchers, political analysts, and decision-makers. Our study highlights the importance of sentiment analysis in understanding public opinion and its potential applications in the field of political science.

Investigating the Cost of Election in Nigeria: The 2019 General Election in Focus

Political party funding is an important issue for all global key players in democratic accountability and transparency. One of the areas where the phenomenon is attracting interest is Nigeria. The 2019 General Election represents an important period for the study of party financing in Nigeria. This study critically examines the cost of an election in Nigeria from four perspectives: the cost of nominations, the cost of party primaries, the cost of the actual campaign, and the cost of running the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The study collected data using a qualitative research design that employed the tools of key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The data collected were analysed and interpreted using thematic descriptive qualitative discussions. The study uncovers that the cost of an election in Nigeria is exorbitant and unbearable and the most disturbing aspect is the illegality involved in terms of the violation of maximum spending limit, the use of state resources, and setting a price of nomination above the reach of the common and average man. Thus, it is recommended among others that a strict regulatory sanction and monitoring form compliance should be applied appropriately.

No Referendum, No Election Campaign: How Radio Biafra Internet Broadcasting Mobilized IPOB Worldwide during the 2019 Nigerian Election

In the buildup of 2019 general election in Nigeria, there were tensions in the Southeastern part of the country over the clamours for election boycott campaign initiated by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, requesting that a referendum should hold in the region for the purpose of secession rather than conduct an election in the area. This drew critical attention nationwide and in diaspora as some rose to condemn the call while some supported the move. Few days to the election, the polity was heated up as to whether the Southeasterners will heed the clarion call to boycott the election or not with the IPOB foot soldiers on ground driving the campaign and threating mayhem to anyone who come out to vote until the “Supreme Leader” of IPOB called off the election boycott 24 hours to the election and there was total compliance and suspension of the campaign in the region. This could not have been possible without the effectiveness of Radio Biafra Internet broadcasting. How this Internet radio station was effective in the mobilization of members of IPOB to drive the “No Referendum, No Election” campaign is the focus of this study. Anchored on Technological Determinism theory, survey method was used to carry out the study with a population of 803,416 and a sample size of 382 listeners in Anambra and Abia States as respondents drawn using Krejcie and Morgan Sample Size Determination Table. The findings revealed that people were highly exposed to Radio Biafra No Referendum; No Election Campaign through Internet broadcasting on Facebook, Word of Mouth and Radio Biafra Terrestrial Broadcasting and this influenced their attitude toward 2019 election resulting to voter apathy in the area. Based on the findings, the researchers therefore, recommend that Radio Biafra should engage their digital broadcasting for national cohesion and integration rather than preach the message of secession disintegration

Effect of Vote Buying in Nigeria: A Study of 2019 General Election

Purpose: Money has been very influential in determining the outcome of elections in Nigeria and other developing democracies of other countries of the world. This study investigated the effect of vote buying in Nigeria, a study of 2019 general elections. Specifically the paper sought to examine the extent to which vote buying has affected Nigeria’s democracy.
 Methodology: The study adopted is qualitative method of data collection and analysis where some informants with an experience and classified information on the subject matter were consulted for interview in addition to secondary sources. The paper adopted stokes theory of demand and supply in 2007. The data obtained was interpreted for analysis and findings.
 Findings: This study discovered that there was heavy use of money during the recent 2019 general elections and the outcome was affected by such brazen act given undue advantage to politicians who have the means to buy their way into power thus hindering the development of our democracy.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study concludes that until regulatory agencies and various stakeholders responsible for monitoring elections and sanctioning of offenders up their game in minimizing excessive use of money in Nigeria’s politics, it will continue to produce incompetent leaders which will lead to bad governance and abuse of power as witnessed today, Nigeria’s budding democracy will collapse into a moneyocracy under the weight of vote buying.

Monetizing Politics in Nigeria's Democratic Fourth Republic: Delegates as a Commercialized Political Tool and a Flawed Candidate/Leadership Selection Process against the 2023 Election

The paper seeks to examine the extent to which the Nigerian democratic Fourth Republic has been bastardized by money politics. There were widespread expectations that the arrival of democracy in Nigeria on May 29, 1999, would usher in an era of free and fair elections, tolerance, respect for human rights, and the strengthening of all democratic edifices (courts, civil society, a corrupt-free and independent judiciary, people-oriented development, and so on). Unfortunately, the fourth republic became ensnared in a web of protracted political, economic, and social maladies. One of these has been the pernicious issue of undemocratic methods of leadership selection and election, which have been rife with anomalies such as rigging, thugs, vote-buying, assassination, and so on. This has manifested itself in the current 2022 primary elections in Nigeria in preparation for the 2023 general election. The situation gets worse and more deplorable as the delegates who are vested with the constitutional powers to select those to run for the presidency in 2023 have been transformed into a political nightmare as huge amounts of foreign currency flood the entire process of the primary election. Based on this, the study interrogated the delegate system and how it aided the flourishing of flawed electoral processes for leadership selection, considering the overbearing tenets of money politics. The paper used a qualitative research methodology because the data was primarily obtained from secondary sources: textbooks, journal publications, internet materials, and magazines. Content analysis was used to analyze secondary data. The study discusses some technical and constitutional provisions concerning party formation, the place of the delegate in Nigeria's electoral processes, party primaries, and candidates who contested the primaries of the two major political parties, etc., before discussing issues of money politics and how delegates became a thorn in the country's electoral processes and candidate selection. The investment theory of politics and party competition was explored. The study discovered that the delegate system continues to be anathema to quality and visionary leadership, leading to its abolition and the adoption of a more inclusive and concessional approach.

Do Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections Pass the Electoral Integrity Test?

Studies and institutional reports have increasingly demonstrated the significance of electoral integrity as a conceptual framework for measuring the quality of elections in contemporary democracies. Apart from measuring the quality of elections, the phenomenal electoral fraud and manipulations which have characterised the post-third wave of democratisation, had given credence to the general benchmark for evaluating the credibility of elections. I use the Electoral Integrity framework popularised by Pippa Norris and co, to examine the integrity of the 2019 general elections to know whether the polls pass the electoral integrity test. While adopting qualitative research method for collecting and analysing the data, I found that contrary to optimistic remarks in some quarters on the outcome of 2019 general elections, the elections failed the electoral integrity test. I offered a proficient perspective that explored the relevant indicators from the electoral integrity framework to establish the veracity of my claim that the 2019 general election is less credible, and consequently, failed the electoral integrity threshold. The findings of this work contribute to theory and practice on electoral integrity and high quality of elections in Nigeria. Keywords: Electoral Integrity, electoral fraud, elections, operationalisation and theorisation DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/81-05 Publication date: March 31 st 2023

JUDICIAL CORRUPTION, INSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND THE ELECTORAL PROCESS IN NIGERIA

Shortly after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the demise of several African one-party regimes, leaders of a number of African countries began the process of reconstructing the postcolonial African state by embarking on policy and political reforms. This decision was informed by the fact that, since independence, many African countries have been wracked by political and economic crises that have prevented the state from pursuing the rapid growth and economic development needed to fight poverty and material deprivation on the continent. This study argues that while corruption has contributed largely to the development crises in post-independence Nigeria, the problem of judicial corruption is a major impediment to the attainment of sustainable electoral reform in Nigeria. The study substantiates this hypothesis by citing instances of corruption in the Election Petition Tribunals of the 2003 and 2007 general elections in Nigeria. It is submitted that corruption in the judiciary helps to undermine electoral reform by ensuring that the decisions of the Election Petition Tribunals are compromised and the mandate of the people is subverted. Suggestions are offered to reform of the Nigerian electoral process with a view to fighting corruption in the judiciary.

The Challenges of Election Observation in Africa

Elections in Africa bring democracy to a close combative consciousness often because political offices hold financial luster and many engage in politics for the gains inherent in it. Arising from this, politicians show extreme urgency, interest and intensity to occupy offices. Electoral malpractices feed on this desperation with attendant conflict that follows elections. Aware of this and the drive to assist in attaining credible and fair elections, election observation groups put up some level of intervention to discourage elections manipulations. In Africa however, this process has faced a number of challenges. The need for this paper arises from the just concluded general elections in Nigeria and the challenges that the international observers faced. The primary source of this work therefore is through the observatory research methodology where participants are observed directly. Also studies of election observations in some selected African states are used as secondary source of engagements. Findings reveal that the challenges faced by international observers of African elections are both the reflections of the nature of politics in Africa and the observers’ political culture and orientation.

THE 2022 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PRIMARIES AND CHALLENGES OF INTERNAL PARTY DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA

This article examined what happened at the state party primaries when political parties elected their delegates and candidates to vie for state Houses of Assembly seats for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria. Successful aspirants to state Houses of Assembly are expected in the next four years to make laws on matters that are closest to the grass root. The article however limited its examination of state Assembly primaries to the two dominant political parties – the APC (All Progressive Congress) and the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) because as of January 2022, these two parties, of the currently registered 18 political parties in Nigeria, controlled 92.8% of the entire state Assembly seats in the 36 states of the Federation. It was established from findings that the problems of imposition of candidates and sponsorship by godfathers characterized the conduct and outcome of party primaries at this level, the extant legal instruments that supposedly ruled against such infractions notwithstanding. This article, by providing a background to this study, established with examples that these problems have existed within the Nigerian political space and in party primaries in particular, during the first second, and third Republics respectively. This creates challenges of accountability when aspirants emerging through this process are elected into office. The article concluded with recommendations on what should be done to limit or eliminate the control of governors, money bags, and godfathers, especially at the level of state Assembly primaries. The emphasis in the recommendations was placed amongst others on the rank-and-file card-carrying members being attracted and retained, as strong financial members of their parties, committed to the party’s ideology and programs, and being made therefore to own the party and its structures.

Citizenship Education and University Students’ Participation in Management of Election in Nigeria

Citizenship Education and University Students’ Participation in Management of Election in Nigeria

Gender Issues and Electoral Security in Nigeria (1999- 2023)

The participation of women in electoral politics and security has become an important issue in the global arena. This is because women bear the brunt of conflicts and insecurity in most societies. Since the return of democracy in 1999 in Nigeria, there is a growing concern on the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence against women especially during electoral processes. Thus, the primary focus of this paper is to establish the link between gender-based electoral violence and low level of women participation in politics, it also seeks to examine the extent to which women have been excluded and violated in security and political related electoral processes. The paper reveals that women’s participation in electoral processes appear to be minimal, while electoral violence issues targeting women during elections in Nigeria appear to be alarmingly high. It further analyses the plethora of factors that are responsible for the continuous exclusion, violation, and discrimination of women in electoral processes. Thus, the paper explores measures that are required to promote and ensure sustained women inclusion in electoral processes, noting that leadership, decision-making, policy analyses, and policy actions should include men and women. From the research, the paper shows a glaring gap between gender participation in issues relating to electoral processes in Nigeria. It therefore recommends the need for interventions/initiatives by governments, political actors, Civil Society Organizations through development of legal frameworks and policies that will promote the inclusion and full participation of women in electoral processes towards a peaceful and sustainable Nigeria.

ELITE FACTOR AND ELECTORAL CHOICE OF CANDIDATES IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF PARTY PRIMARIES FOR THE 2023 GENERAL ELECTION

Election in modern liberal democracy remains an important element that guarantees citizens’ right to political participation either as aspirants/candidates or as electorates. The emergence of candidates of political parties preparatory to the general election is a function of the party primary. It is at this stage of the electoral competition that unpopular candidates resort to manipulation of the processes in order to clinch the ticket. The paper, therefore, examines the factor of the elite in the conduct of primaries for the 2023 elections in Nigeria. The paper relied on secondary and primary sources and collected data from related secondary documents such as; articles in journals, newspapers, unpublished papers, INEC official documents, etc. The primary source includes raw data in its original form through interview methods/verbal discussions with relevant stakeholders in the field on one-to-one interviews and small group discussions. Findings in the paper revealed among others that, the Political elites whose children aspired to inherit them in the primaries for the 2023 election cut across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria with many of them “selected” as party candidates at various levels. The paper recommended among others strict enforcement of sanctions on violators as provided in the electoral act 2022.

An Overview of the Electoral Act, 2022

The Electoral Act, 2022 is a legislation meant to guide the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) while conducting election in Nigeria. It is legal framework regulating the electoral processes in the country including the activities of political parties ranging from registration and merger. This article seeks to examine the Act in an abstract form using doctrinal means to analyse this novel legislation. It is observed that the legislation is perfect for the timing but was not implemented fully by the Commission in particular and Nigerians in general. To correct this anomaly, all stakeholders including the Commission need to put into use all vital provisions to give life to the legislation in all elections to come.

Presidential Election in Nigeria 2023 Trial and Tribulation of Democracy

Political power to the people is the key to democracy. The famous Abraham Lincoln saying, government of the people, for the people and by the people, provides the basic structure of a democratic system. If the general masses are the custodian of power, then there must be a mechanism which should make the people the trustee of power. Election of the person or group of persons to exercise that power is the mechanism needed for the system. Nigerians love democracy. After much trial and tribulation, they have adopted a presidential democratic system. The next Presidential election in Nigeria will be held in February 2023. The election process is so lengthy and cumbersome that it takes a year from the day when political parties announce the names of their candidates till a voter comes out from his home to the pooling booth to cast his/ her vote in favor of his chosen candidate. Nigeria is beset with the problems of regionalism, ethnicity, religious favoritism. Cultural diversity, political instability, low economic growth, in spite of the flow of billion dollars’ worth of oil, are yet other problems, Nigerians must face to survive as a strong, viable modern, democratic state in Africa. Last but not least, a candidate in order to win the office of the Presidency, must overcome two constitutional hurdles. First, he must have received a plurality of votes cast in his favor. 2nd he must have received at least 25% of votes in two thirds of the total number of states. It means the candidate must have received 25% of votes in 24 states out of the total 36 states. Presidential system of Nigeria is so lucrative particularly to the Western media that it cannot afford to ignore it dynamic nature. Nigeria will now serve as an example of democracy in the third world. It will be a beacon light.

The Politics of the Electoral Act Amendment and the 2019 General Elections in Nigeria

Amending the 2010 Electoral Act before Nigeria’s 2019 general elections generated huge controversies. The determination of the legislature to get the Electoral Act amended and the refusal of the executive to grant assent to the Electoral Bill raises the question: In whose interest was the proposed amendment? The present article examines the political issues that surrounded the amendment of the Electoral Act vis-à-vis the 2019 elections in Nigeria. The article argues that the electoral amendment bill may not after all be in the interest of a credible election as each political party tried to manipulate the bill and the process of amendment to its advantage. The article is qualitative and theoretical and adopts the thematic analysis to draw contextual inferences. It also adopts the cartel party theory.

Wireless CCTV, a workable tool for overcoming security challenges during elections in Nigeria

Wireless CCTV, a workable tool for overcoming security challenges during elections in Nigeria