Political Security and Electoral Rigging in Nigeria; a Study of 2015 General Election
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main study objective is to appraise political security and electoral rigging in Nigeria; A study of 2015 General Election.
While the specific objectives of the study include;
- To appraise the causes of political insecurity in Nigeria.
- To determine the effect of political insecurity on election rigging in Nigeria in 2015 general elections.
- To determine the level of election rigging in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Ideally, elections ought not to be characterized by conflicts and violence if the actors were genuinely seeking power for the common good. And security forces have no role to play in an ideal democracy. However, for democracies in West Africa elections remain a major trigger of violence and insecurity (Hounkpe and Gueye, 2010). They averred that elections possess certain characteristics which make them a potential source of insecurity, conflict and instability for the democratic system if not properly managed. Significantly, it is evident that security during the electoral process is a major problem in the management of elections especially in emerging democracies. But this in no way suggests that elections engender violence rather it is the poor management of the electoral process that results in violence especially if the process is perceived to be compromised. This notion was properly captured by (Jinadu, 2011) when he argued that “that the increase in election violence in many African states is due, among other causes to the poor management of diversity, reflecting the mobilization of ethic cleavages and repression of dissenting views”. He concludes that a fall out of this mismanagement is the insertion of the state into the electoral governance as a partisan through the use of the power of incumbency by the party in power for unfair political advantage. Other scholars such as (Maitambari, 2011) have focused on the inadequate preparation of the electoral umpire. They argued that inefficient of pre-election processes such as voters‟ registration and education are sources of conflict and violence as politicians take advantage of such lapses to commit electoral fraud. Other narratives include the complicity of the party in power by its failure to adequately fund the electoral empire or late release of funds. The sabotage of logistics arrangement by those contracted by the umpire to convey election materials and even in certain situations the corruption of the security personnel detailed to provide security for the materials and personnel of the umpire. The availability of voting materials and behaviour of polling agents are delicate aspects which present potential risk of violence and insecurity (Hounkpe and Gueye, 2010). For instance, during the distribution of the permanent voters‟ card for the 2015 elections, the South-East states, Lagos and Ogun states were completely unsatisfied with the distribution of the cards. Whereas some states in the North had a 98% collection rates the states in the South-East, Lagos and Ogun recorded below 60%. This was misconstrued as a ploy by the umpire to rig the election in favour of a particular candidate. Unfortunately, with the exception of Lagos state, the other states were states with very high voters‟ apathy as recorded in a survey on Voters Apathy prior to the 2011 elections as most of the citizenry were already disillusioned with the conduct and performance of their state governments. The security challenges faced by the umpire during elections were well articulated by one of the resident electoral commissioners. He argued that “lack of internal democracy by participating political parties in the nomination of candidates contributes to the various conflicts that characterize elections in Nigeria. For him, the absence of a redress mechanism for aggrieved candidates has resulted in self-help for those who feel cheated (Igini, 2013).The tendency to resort to self-help is often due to the perception of compromise of the process by the voters and the feeling of corruption to benefit some candidates. For instance, during the 2015 presidential election, the failure of the card reader to accredit one of the candidates was misconstrued as a deliberate ploy by the umpire to disadvantage the candidate. Thus it behooves the umpire to ensure the fidelity of its electronic devices in order to allay the fears of corruption of the system given the heterogeneous nature of the society. The perception of corruption of the electoral process was what triggered the violence, destruction and murder of National Youth Corp members during the post-election phase in 2011. Questions have been raised as to the role expected of the police during elections. For (Adekanye and Iyanda, 2011), the functions of the police should include superintending electioneering campaigns to ensure that politicians remain civil and thus avoid conflicts. And providing a secured environment for voters to exercise their franchise without the fear of intimidation and harassment. Including ensuring the sanctity of the whole process.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain political security and electoral rigging in Nigeria. A Study of 2015 General Election. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of political security and electoral rigging in Nigeria. A Study of 2015 General Election Summary
This study was on political security and electoral rigging in Nigeria. A Study of 2015 General Election. Three objectives were raised which included: To appraise the causes of political insecurity in Nigeria, to determine the effect of political insecurity on election rigging in Nigeria in 2015 general elections and to determine the level of election rigging in Nigeria. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from 2015 General Election in Kogi state. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
Conventionally security of the electoral process comprises the policing and the management of security during elections. The challenge of securing elections and election management in a world where insecurity is rife is a daunting task for both INEC and the government of Nigeria. However, the presidential election of March 28th 2015, has shown that where the will exists the state can rise above issues such as social divisions and insurgency to manage an election. The challenge for transition states especially in Africa is how to manage its social divisions to ensure participatory inclusivity during elections. This issue becomes germane in view of the fact that electoral violence as experienced in Kenya in 2007 and in Nigeria in 2011 arose from perceived injustice emanating from social divisions. Significantly, it is this feeling of exclusion that gave fillip to situations of conflict experienced during the April 11th 2015, governorship elections as candidates and their parties came into the election with the mind-set of winning at all costs because of the „winner takes all‟ syndrome characteristic of our politics
Recommendation
Government should walk the talk by providing adequate funding to all its institutions especially the police to insulate its personnel from corruption. Where electronic devices are used in the electoral process the fidelity of such devices must be guaranteed by INEC by ensuring that its staff are trained on the use of such devices ahead of elections. Finally, sanctions must be applied promptly whenever there is a security breach during elections to deter potential criminals as justice delayed is justice denied.
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