Elections and Democratization in Nigeria: Some thoughts on the 2015 Genral Election
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Date
2019-06
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Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State
Abstract
Election in Nigeria since the advent of the fourth republic have been unique and remarkable. However, the 2015 general elections unarguably remain the most prominent in the history of elections and election management in Nigeria owing to the high significant changes it brought onto the countries electoral system and politics in general. The paper examines the 2015 general election with a focus on the changes brought in their wake with respect to the processes and the impacts of their outcomes on the country's democracy. The paper finds out that while certain common elements that have characterized Nigeria's electoral process and system since independence, such as lack of credible party primaries, electoral violence, electoral malpractice among others, resurfaced in the 2015 elections, the country's electoral and political space witnessed major transformations including technological innovation, improved funding for INEC, signing of peace accord by major political parties, and the acceptance of defeat by the incumbent candidate, all of which speak volume about improved transparency of the entire process and relative success of the polls. In light of this, the paper argues that Nigeria needs to consolidate on the gains brought about by those changes as a way of bracing up for future elections and further strengthening her democracy. Expectedly, the paper recommends among others, the integration of peace accord into Nigeria's electoral law.
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Keywords
Democratization, Elections, Change, Political Parties, 2015 General Elections, Continuity