ELECTION RIGGING AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN NIGERIA
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ELECTION RIGGING AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN NIGERIA
CHAPITRE ONE
1.1 A BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
THE CONCEPT OF ELECTION
Election is a crucial ingredient and the ultimate test of political involvement in a democracy. It is described as the process of selecting officials and representatives of an organisation by votes of its qualified members. Citizens have the chance to vote for competing leaders and policies at regular intervals under the process (Bedlolman 1993).
Furthermore, election has been defined as the process by which electorates choose government representatives through the use of a voting mechanism. This is the process by which a democracy fills elective positions in the legislature, as well as possibly the executive and judiciary.
The two most frequent election procedures or electoral systems are proportional and majoritarian. Party-list proportional representation and the additional member system are examples of the former.
Many countries have burgeoning electoral reform movements that advocate systems such as approval voting, single transferable vote, instant runoff voting, or a condoicet procedure, among others.
The laws that govern elections (particularly the voting system utilised) can have a significant impact on the character and outcome of the election.
Election rigging is defined as electoral malpractice committed with the corrupt, fraudulent, or sinister intent of influencing an election in favour of a candidate through illegal voting, bribery, threats, undue influence,
intimidation and other acts of coercion exerted on voters, falsification of results, and fraudulent announcement of a defeated candidate as winner without altering the results.
Election rigging is a violation of the constitution and the democratic institutions of government established by it. It is a robbery of the people’s mandate. In Nigeria, popular techniques of election rigging include the dumping of ballot boxes loaded with pre-thumb-printed ballot papers,
fabrication of results by boosting a candidate’s votes and decreasing those of his opponents, and the fraudulent announcement of the losing candidate (Ologbenia 2003).
Political stability in any system of government must include the stable realisation of that form’s political essence. Political stability of a communal gerontocracy in villages and small towns led by elders under an age grade system means that people who have reached the right age at various levels of the system continue to exercise power.
The continuation of the exercise of power by those freely elected by the people of this country for specific periods with definite mandates that conform to the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy clearly defined in Chapter 11 of the constitution means political stability of the type of democracy provided for in our constitution.
The political process, as an economic political factor, has jeopardised the stability of the Nigerian political system, which has, in most cases, given rise to or caused a setback to the smooth running of the transition to democratic programme. Considering the first republic (1960),
the results of election rigging in the western region led to the military intervention in Nigerian politics on January 15, 1966. In the second republic, the ruling party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), dominated the general election, establishing an anti-democratic norm. The general trend of electoral process circulation during the 1983 general election was of bigger magnitude than the 1979 elections.
There is ample historical evidence to support the claim that what we now call election rigging has existed since the 1965 western region election. The blatant rigging of the western region election by Chief Samuel Akintola’s Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP),
the party in power in the region at the time, erupted in election violence between supporters of the Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP) and the Action Group (AG), prompting the army to strike in 1996.
Also, the elections for the Western Region Government in October 1965 were not without incident. Despite the fact that the people decisively rejected Akintola’s government and voted massively for the opposition party,
the Akintola government publicly (interfere) with the election results. In several situations, A.G candidates who were officially elected in their seats and carried certificates later heard their names cited as defeated candidates in government news media.
The summering TIV insurrection in the middle belt, the political standstill in the centre, and the subsequent mass revolt in the western region by people who felt rightly that they had been robbed at the polls created the stage for the first military coup on January 15th, 1966.
Again in 1983, the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) under Alhaji Shehu Shagari committed a slew of election atrocities. The voting process, voter registration, and actual votes cast were all skewed. To produce the so-called bandwagon efforts,
the sequence of elections was reversed and voter registrations were inflated. For example, whereas the order of elections requires that presidential elections be held last, the NPN government decided that these elections would be held first.
As a result of the election manipulation and the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) winning with a “moon slide” that negated all types of democratic norms and ideals, democracy was once again aborted owing to military intervention in 1983. History repeated itself in the fourth republic, with the Obasanjo administration conducting the 2003 general election of 2004.
These elections (including the numerous party primaries) will go down in history as the most fraudulent, equal only to a coup d’ etal against the people. Except for the PDP administration in power, all commentators on the 2003 and 2004 elections agree that every aspect of the election was fraudulent.
He noticed that the political space was poorly defined. Despite the fact that more political parties were enlisted. The most powerful of the parties. The People Democratic Party (PDP) seized control of the government, and some schools of thought think that the struggle for power in the fourth republic was founded on a zero tolerance strategy.
The primary focus of this study will be on election cheating and its dire threat to political instability in Nigeria. Today, it is early seen that the concept “election rigging” is perceived to be once successfully employed by a political party to get itself into power;
the tendency is for the party to perfect its forms and techniques to the point where it becomes entrenched as part of the political culture” thereby excluding entirely the chances of elections ever being conducted in a free and fair manner,
however, this act of election rigging As a result of this fight, there has been a strong competition among political parties, an actor that inevitably boils down to election manipulation.
Election rigging can take the following forms: stealing ballot boxes, inflating voter numbers, ghost voting control, voting of unregistered voters, bribery of electoral officials, intimidation of opponents by the dominant party,
manipulation of election outcomes through the body conducting the election. Evidence suggests that such electoral vices have always been present in the Nigerian electoral process.
To support the preceding interpretation, election rigging in Nigeria is the result of political players seeking to keep themselves in power by utilising rigging as a primary tool for training the statuesque.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Election rigging, as an economic and political element, has jeopardised the political stability of Nigeria. Our objective in this research is to investigate the impact of election rigging on our political system, as well as our nation’s failure to hold free and fair elections at the national and subnational levels over time.
Elections and the electoral process in Nigeria have a history of electoral fraud, which allows political actors to stay in power by making elections mere rituals rather than representing the general will of Nigeria voters.
To what extent has election rigging threatened Nigeria’s political stability? As a result of this, the need for this research developed.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To investigate the impact of election manipulation on Nigeria’s political stability.
To expose the electoral manipulation system
To investigate the economic, social, and political impact of election rigging on the Nigerian people.
1.4 THEORY OF FRAMEWORK
Theories are used to assist scholars in understanding and explaining political phenomena. The elite theory was chosen as the theoretical foundation for this study. According to elite theory,
man can never be free of the shackles of an elite structure. The term elite refers to individuals who excel. According to classical elite theorists, the governing elite is defined by superior personal traits of those who wield power.
According to them, power is always wielded by a tiny cohesive group of the elite. According to elite theory, all societies are naturally divided into two major groups: the ruling minority and the dominated. All political systems are typically divided into two groups: the ruling elite and those who are ruled.
The political elite are the most essential part of the political system since they are the major group that possesses the highest level of political power and makes or influences the most important political decisions in society.
The behaviour of the elite can make or break a political state’s degree of growth. Because the elite are primarily concerned with self-preservation and survival, the policies and programmes they advocate are tailored towards achieving their objectives. The effort to keep and sustain power frequently contradicts the common populace’s growth drive.
On the basis of this theory analysis, we attempt to explain the domination, intimidation, and party politics that have characterised the Nigerian electoral process.
1.5 METHODOLOGY
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims, the researcher wants to collect information for this project using the following strategies in this study activity. Data will be gathered from periodicals, newspapers, journals, textbooks, and websites, as well as from personal observation.
This strategy was chosen because it will allow them to obtain thorough information from many sources on the above-mentioned problem, as well as a better understanding of the effects of election rigging and its terrible consequences for democracy.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Democracy is a form of government in which all qualified adult citizens share supreme power, either directly or through their chosen representatives. “Democracy is a system of government which is derived from public opinion and is accountable to it”
Abraham Lincoln, whose definition of democracy has since become axiomatic, defined it as “government of, by, and for the people.”
Democracy is also known as “government by consent of the governed,” or “government with the approval of the governed.” The word democracy was created by combining the Greek words Demos (people) and kratia (rule or government).
Election: It is the act of choosing or selecting candidates to represent the people of a country in parliament and other posts in government. Election is often defined as a fight for government authority between rival political parties or groupings.
Elections were necessary due to the difficulties of direct representation in modern states.
Rigging: A primary form of electoral process pervasion in the rigging of outcome polls, mainly by financially strong parties and politically favoured citizens within the party. Rigging comprises the fabrication of many ballot boxes for a popular political party or candidate.
Instability: This is a situation in which the smooth operation of either the government or the political system is jeopardised as a result of the populace’s expression of unhappiness through a succession of demonstrations of notes.
1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How has election rigging affected Nigeria’s electoral process?
What are the social, economic, and political consequences of election manipulation in Nigeria’s democracy?
Who is involved in Nigerian election rigging?
How does election manipulation influence or deny citizens’ rights?
How can we reform the political system such that it is more effective?
How can we stop election cheating in Nigeria?
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