POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS

A prosperous democracy is only possible when a free and fair election is achieved. If resources and potentials of the nation will be properly maximized, it will begin with an election without intimidation or harassment. The voters should be allowed to freely vote for the candidate and political par...

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Main Author: IBIRONKE B. DOMINION ADIGUN
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Federal University Wukari 2023-12-01
Series:International Studies Journal
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Online Access:https://wissjournals.com.ng/index.php/wiss/article/view/221
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author IBIRONKE B. DOMINION ADIGUN
author_facet IBIRONKE B. DOMINION ADIGUN
author_sort IBIRONKE B. DOMINION ADIGUN
collection DOAJ
description A prosperous democracy is only possible when a free and fair election is achieved. If resources and potentials of the nation will be properly maximized, it will begin with an election without intimidation or harassment. The voters should be allowed to freely vote for the candidate and political parties of their choice. Searching through history, it has been discovered that there has been no general election in Nigeria since independence in 1960 that has not been characterized by election violence, which has also led to a serious crisis, violence, disputations, and even bloodshed despite the law governing the electoral process in Nigeria. It is therefore pertinent to investigate the reasons why it has been impossible for Nigeria as a nation to achieve a credible election since inception. Therefore, this paper outlines the common challenges of election and why the political actors prefer electoral violence instead of a free and fair election. Using both primary and secondary data, that is, the historical analysis of data, from different scholarly works, this paper found out that it is germane to analyze the reasons why elections in Nigeria can never be credible and possible solutions, with specific focus on the 2011 and 2015 general elections from the comparative analysis perspectives. The credibility of election has always been on paper, but obviously the actions of the people involved is the direct opposite of what the law says. No doubt, there is need for government to place priority on non-inference in electoral matters, the role of judiciary and re-orientation of politicians, also systems and institutions should work in Nigeria like other advanced countries.
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spelling doaj-art-1ef40eb1b74046cf89ab40117dddc2be2025-02-10T10:00:51ZengFederal University WukariInternational Studies Journal2756-46492023-12-0174POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONSIBIRONKE B. DOMINION ADIGUN0Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State A prosperous democracy is only possible when a free and fair election is achieved. If resources and potentials of the nation will be properly maximized, it will begin with an election without intimidation or harassment. The voters should be allowed to freely vote for the candidate and political parties of their choice. Searching through history, it has been discovered that there has been no general election in Nigeria since independence in 1960 that has not been characterized by election violence, which has also led to a serious crisis, violence, disputations, and even bloodshed despite the law governing the electoral process in Nigeria. It is therefore pertinent to investigate the reasons why it has been impossible for Nigeria as a nation to achieve a credible election since inception. Therefore, this paper outlines the common challenges of election and why the political actors prefer electoral violence instead of a free and fair election. Using both primary and secondary data, that is, the historical analysis of data, from different scholarly works, this paper found out that it is germane to analyze the reasons why elections in Nigeria can never be credible and possible solutions, with specific focus on the 2011 and 2015 general elections from the comparative analysis perspectives. The credibility of election has always been on paper, but obviously the actions of the people involved is the direct opposite of what the law says. No doubt, there is need for government to place priority on non-inference in electoral matters, the role of judiciary and re-orientation of politicians, also systems and institutions should work in Nigeria like other advanced countries. https://wissjournals.com.ng/index.php/wiss/article/view/221Political BehaviorDemocracyElectionElectoral ViolenceGovernance
spellingShingle IBIRONKE B. DOMINION ADIGUN
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS
International Studies Journal
Political Behavior
Democracy
Election
Electoral Violence
Governance
title POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS
title_full POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS
title_fullStr POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS
title_full_unstemmed POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS
title_short POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS
title_sort political behavior and electoral violence in nigeria analysis of the 2011 and 2015 general elections
topic Political Behavior
Democracy
Election
Electoral Violence
Governance
url https://wissjournals.com.ng/index.php/wiss/article/view/221
work_keys_str_mv AT ibironkebdominionadigun politicalbehaviorandelectoralviolenceinnigeriaanalysisofthe2011and2015generalelections