Two Decades of Electoral Democracy

Voter apathy is a subdivision of political apathy and has become one of the foremost democracy quandaries especially in developing polities. Participation in politics is an important part of decision making in a democratic setting. Therefore, when voters do not come out to participate in voting, it...

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Main Authors: Celestine Ogechukwu Okafor, Jude Odigbo, Remi Chukwudi Okeke
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Editura Sitech 2022-07-01
Series:Social Sciences and Education Research Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sserr-9-1-84-96.pdf
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author Celestine Ogechukwu Okafor
Jude Odigbo
Remi Chukwudi Okeke
author_facet Celestine Ogechukwu Okafor
Jude Odigbo
Remi Chukwudi Okeke
author_sort Celestine Ogechukwu Okafor
collection DOAJ
description Voter apathy is a subdivision of political apathy and has become one of the foremost democracy quandaries especially in developing polities. Participation in politics is an important part of decision making in a democratic setting. Therefore, when voters do not come out to participate in voting, it dsefinitely impacts negatively on the electoral process and sometimes undermines the outcome of an election. It may mean that the majority who did not vote indirectly empowered the minority who voted to make decision on their behalf. This paper argues that the increasing manifestation of voter apathy in the last two decades of Nigeria's democracy leads to a poor democratization process and governance failures in the Nigerian project. It has promoted a condition in which individuals still remain more powerful than institutions. The paper employed documentary methods for data collection, while anchoring its discourses on the decision making theory as theoretical framework. The paper concludes that if the increasing level of voter apathy is not controlled in the country, it will continue to constitute a challenge to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. It recommends among other considerations that the Electoral Management Body (EMB) needs to critically inspire citizens through massive enlightenment and must restore trust and confidence in the electoral process by ensuring that people's verdicts are not thwarted by any means.
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spelling doaj-art-8be14a664da84f2492106d12d51dbfb22025-08-20T02:12:15ZengEditura SitechSocial Sciences and Education Research Review2392-98632022-07-0191849610.5281/zenodo.6794638Two Decades of Electoral DemocracyCelestine Ogechukwu Okafor0Jude Odigbo1Remi Chukwudi OkekeDepartment of Political Science, Federal University WukariDepartment of Political Science, Madonna University NigeriaVoter apathy is a subdivision of political apathy and has become one of the foremost democracy quandaries especially in developing polities. Participation in politics is an important part of decision making in a democratic setting. Therefore, when voters do not come out to participate in voting, it dsefinitely impacts negatively on the electoral process and sometimes undermines the outcome of an election. It may mean that the majority who did not vote indirectly empowered the minority who voted to make decision on their behalf. This paper argues that the increasing manifestation of voter apathy in the last two decades of Nigeria's democracy leads to a poor democratization process and governance failures in the Nigerian project. It has promoted a condition in which individuals still remain more powerful than institutions. The paper employed documentary methods for data collection, while anchoring its discourses on the decision making theory as theoretical framework. The paper concludes that if the increasing level of voter apathy is not controlled in the country, it will continue to constitute a challenge to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. It recommends among other considerations that the Electoral Management Body (EMB) needs to critically inspire citizens through massive enlightenment and must restore trust and confidence in the electoral process by ensuring that people's verdicts are not thwarted by any means.https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sserr-9-1-84-96.pdfvoter apathy democracy electoral process electoral democracy democratization
spellingShingle Celestine Ogechukwu Okafor
Jude Odigbo
Remi Chukwudi Okeke
Two Decades of Electoral Democracy
Social Sciences and Education Research Review
voter apathy
democracy
electoral process
electoral democracy
democratization
title Two Decades of Electoral Democracy
title_full Two Decades of Electoral Democracy
title_fullStr Two Decades of Electoral Democracy
title_full_unstemmed Two Decades of Electoral Democracy
title_short Two Decades of Electoral Democracy
title_sort two decades of electoral democracy
topic voter apathy
democracy
electoral process
electoral democracy
democratization
url https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sserr-9-1-84-96.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT celestineogechukwuokafor twodecadesofelectoraldemocracy
AT judeodigbo twodecadesofelectoraldemocracy
AT remichukwudiokeke twodecadesofelectoraldemocracy