Political Alienation and Electoral Participation in Nigeria's Democratization Process:A Survey of Voter Behavior in the 2019 General Elections
Main Article Content
Keywords
alienation, voter participation, democratization process, popular representation, 2019 elections
Abstract
The attainment of adequate electoral participation in a democratic setting is essential to maintain legitimacy, credibility, and stability since democracy is about popular representation. However, from available data worldwide, voter participation is gradually on the decline. The study aimed to ascertain the reasons, nature and implication of voter abstention for Nigeria’s democratic development. This study thus surveyed the perceptions of Nigerians on the factors influencing low-level participation of eligible voters in the Nigerian electoral process. The study adopted the mixed model research design. A sample of 1,200 respondents was chosen from the selected local government areas of the six zones using the stratified random sampling technique. The simple percentages and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient statistical technique were used to test and determine the degree of association intrinsic in the stated research questions for the quantitative data. The descriptive-analytical technique was adopted to analyze the qualitative aspect of the data. The findings from the study showed that the failure of elected political officers to fulfill electoral promises, electoral fraud, and violence, are responsible for voter alienation in Nigeria. Consequently, the following suggestions are made: The elected political officials should ensure good governance based on meeting the needs of the citizenry; fraudulent practices during elections should be penalized with appropriate sanctions and the governments at all levels should put on modalities to mitigate the incidences of violence during elections. Achieving a credible, free, fair and effective electoral process would, therefore, require the partnership of all stakeholders in the Nigerian democratic project.
Article Metrics Graph
References
Agu, S., U., Okeke, V., O., S., Idike, A., N., (2013). Voter’s Apathy and Revival of Genuine Political Participation in Nigeria. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 4(3), 439- 448. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n3p439
Alechenu, J. (April 2012). ‘Government, INEC, Media Responsible for Voter Apathy’. The Punch Daily Digest.
Alechenu, J. June, (2013). BokoHaram paid us N5000 each to burn schools-Kid suspect, Punch, pp. 21
Bowler, S., & Donovan, T. (2002). Democracy, Institutions and Attitudes about Citizen Influence on Government, British Journal of Political Science 2(32), 371–90. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123402000157
Brady, H. (1999). Political Participation, In Measures of Political Attitudes, eds. J.P. Robinson, P.R. Shaver, & L.S. Wrightsman. San Diego: Academic Press.
Campbell, A., Gurin G., & Miller, W., E. (1954). The Voter Decides, Evanston, Evanston, Illinois: Row, Peterson and Company, pp. xiii, 242.
Catterberg, G., & Moreno, A. (2006). The Individual Bases of Political Trust: Trends in New and Established Democracies, International Journal of Public Opinion Research 1(18), 31–48. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edh081
Dalton, R J., (2002). Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracy. New York: Chatham House Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1093/0199253099.003.0001
Dalton, R. J. (2007). Democratic Challenges, Democratic Choices: The Erosion of Political Support in Advanced Industrial Democracies. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ebegbulem J. C., Adams, J. A. (2022). Electoral Apathy and its Implications for the Conduct of Credible Elections in Nigeria, Retrieved from:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339412327_Electoral_Apathy_and_its_Implications_for_the_Conduct_of_Credible_Elections_in_Nigeria
Ellis, A. (2004). ‘Participation and Turnout: Relating Knowledge and Tools to the Practical Questions Facing Democratic Reformers,’ (Paper prepared for the Challenges to Democratic Governance Round Table, Stockholm meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Political Science Association) (IPSA), Stockholm, 7 October 2004, (p. 3).
Fagunwa C. T. (2019). Voter Apathy and Nigeria’s Electioneering Process: A Synopsis On the 2015 General Elections, Retrieved from: https://www.inecnigeria.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Conference-Paper-by-Christopher-Lambiko-Fagunwa.pdf
Falade, D., A. (2015). Political Participation in Nigerian Democracy: A Study of Some Selected Local Government Areas in Ondo State, Nigeria. Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research 14(8), 17-23.
Fawole, A. (2005). ‘Voting Without Choosing: Interrogating the Crisis of Electoral Democracy in Nigeria’, in Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo, ed., LiberalDemocracy and its Critics in Africa: Political Dysfunction and the Struggle for Social Progress, Dakar: CODESRIA. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350221116.ch-007
Finifter, A., W. (1970). “Dimensions of Political Alienation”. The American Political Science Review. 64(2), 389–410. https://doi.org/10.2307/1953840
Franklin, M., N. (2004). Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (p. 19). https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511616884
Glasberg, D., S., Shannon, D. (2010). Political Sociology: Oppression, Resistance, and the State. SAGE Publications. Inc; 1st edition, November 16, ISBN 1412980402. OCLC 815880812.
Glasgow, G. & Alvarez, R. M. (2005). Voting Behavior and the Electoral Contest of Government Formation, Electoral Study, 24(2), 245- 264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2004.05.003
Höglund, K. (2009) “Electoral Violence in Conflict-Ridden Societies: Concepts, Causes, and Consequences,” Terrorism and Political Violence, 21(3), 417–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550902950290
Ibeogu, A. S., Edeh, C. E., Abah, E. O., Onwe, S. O., Ejem, E. N. (2019). Voting Apathy among the Nigerian Electorates in 2019 General Elections: The Role of INEC, Issues and the Way Forward, Retrieved from: https://www.ijbmi.org/papers/Vol(8)12/Series-1/K0812016474.pdf; etc.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) (2019). Electoral System Design Database, Retrieved from: https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/electoral-system-design
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (1999). Youth Voter Participation: Involving Today’s Young in Tomorrow Democracy. Stockholm: International IDEA.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (2006). Voter Turnout Data from National Elections Worldwide- 1945 to June 30, 2006. Retrieved from: www.elections.org.za/content/workArea/Downloadasset.aspx?id.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (2016). Voter Turnout Trends around the World, Retrieved from: https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/voter-turnout-trends-around-the-world.pdf
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (2015). Voter turnout data for Nigeria, Retrieved from: http://www.idea.int/vt/countryview.cfm?id=168
Iyanda A. I. (2020). Assessing the Changing Nature of Voters Apathy in Nigeria A Comparison of Old and New Media, Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/39215616/Assessing_the_Changing_Nature_of_Voters_Apathy_in_Nigeria_A_Comparison_of_Old_and_New_Media
Kim, I., N., C. (2005). A Sense of Alienation Towards Government—an Analytic Framework, International Review of Public Administration (9)2, 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/12294659.2005.10805049
Korzeniowski, K. (1994). Political Alienation in Poland in Days of Systemic Transformation, Polish Psychological Bulletin (25)3, 187–200.
Nigeria Data Portal (2006). State Population, 2006, Retrieved from: https://nigeria.opendataforafrica.org/ifpbxbd/state-population-2006
Norris, P. (2002a). Democratic Phoenix, Reinventing Political Activism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610073
Ojetunde, D. Mar, (2019). Election: Nigeria has the lowest rate of voter turnout in Africa, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR). Retrieved from: https://www.icirnigeria.org/2019-election-nigeria-has-the-lowest-voter-turnout-in-africa/
Pulse. ng (February 2019). 2019 Election: Only 34.75% of registered voters voted, Retrieved from: https://www.pulse.ng/news/politics/2019-election-only-3475-of-registered-voters-voted/ydl49c6
Raciborski, J. (2011). The State and the People, Polish Sociological Review (173) 1, 3–20.
Roberts, B., R. (1987). A Confirmatory Factor-Analytic Model of Alienation, Social Psychology Quarterly 50(4), 346–51. https://doi.org/10.2307/2786819
Seeman, M. (1959). On the Meaning of Alienation, American Sociological Review (24)6, 783–791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088565
Van Deth, J.W. (2001). Studying Political Participation: Towards a Theory of Everything? (Paper presented at the Joint Sessions of Workshops of the European Consortium for Political Research), Grenoble, 6–11 April 2001.
Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis, 2nd Ed., New York: Harper and Row.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Licensing information
Creative Commons CC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License
© Author(s)