Election Related Conflicts in Nigeria: The Role of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
Abstract
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the Electoral Management Body (EMB) established in Nigeria to deliver free, fair, and credible elections through a transparent and peaceful process. However, the origin of violence perpetrated during elections with wanton destruction of public and private property, including loss of lives all over the country, calls for an examination of the role of INEC in this regard. This study used historical method analyses to examine the role of INEC. The study found out that though INEC has, to a large extent, performed its role and also helped to deepen democracy in Nigeria since its establishment in 1998. Further studies also found that INEC’s poor organisational abilities, lack of essential transparency, widespread procedural irregularities, substantial evidence of fraud, widespread voter disenfranchisement at different stages of the process, etc., have been responsible for the numerous incidences of conflict in the country during elections. This paper concludes and recommends that external challenges, such as security, inadequate funding, and the desperation amongst Nigerian politicians, be moderated and curtailed with a synergy between the Legislature and Executive arms. At the same time, the judiciary plays its role well, including that INEC employs professional ethics amongst its staff with organisational and logistical efficiency and effectiveness in the electoral process. INEC’s role will be overtly transparent and therefore lead to the delivery of peaceful rather than conflict-infected elections.
References
Adesina, O. (2012). Monitoring and observing Nigeria’s 2011 elections. Journal of African Elections, 11(1), 153-170.
Adesote, A. S., & Abimbola, J. O. (2014). Electoral Violence and the Survival of Democracy in Nigeria’sFourth Republic: A Historical Perspective. Canadian Social Science, 10(3), 140-148.
Agbaje, A., & Adejumobi, S. (2006). Do Votes Count? 1 The Travails of Electoral Politics in Nigeria. Africa Development, 31(3), 25-44.
Agrawal, A. (1999). Accountability in decentralization: A framework with South Asian and West African cases. The journal of developing areas, 33(4), 473-502.
Arnold, B. U. (2018). Thespian Ideation in Nigerian Theatre as Impediment to Economic Survival through Dance Practice. Nigerian Theatre Journal, 18(1), 6.
Awopeju, A. (2021). Independent National Electoral Commission and Electoral Integrity in Nigeria: Is there a Silver Lining?. Asian Journal of African Studies, (51), 101-122.
Cunningham, L. B., Baldick, R., & Baughman, M. L. (2002). An empirical study of applied game theory: Transmission constrained Cournot behavior. IEEE Transactions on power systems, 17(1), 166-172.
Ebiziem, E. (2015). Electoral violence and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, A critical appraisal of 2015 presidential election. Journal of Political Science and Leadership Research, 1(8), 37-51.
Ezeibe, C. (2021). Hate speech and election violence in Nigeria. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 56(4), 919-935.
Galtung, J. (1969). Violence, peace, and peace research. Journal of peace research, 6(3), 167-191.
Helbing, D. (1996). A stochastic behavioral model and a ‘microscopic’foundation of evolutionary game theory. Theory and Decision, 40(2), 149-179.
Maslow, W. (1954). Fair Procedure in Congressional Investigations: A Proposed Code. Colum. L. Rev., 54, 839.
McGrath, K., & Maiye, A. (2010). The role of institutions in ICT innovation: learning from interventions in a Nigerian e-government initiative. Information technology for development, 16(4), 260-278.
Mohammed, U. (2021). The Independent National Electoral Commission’s Conduct of 2019 Elections: How ready is INEC for 2023 general elections?. African Strategic Review, 6(1).
Moliki, A. O. (2021). Political party elite and election-related violence in Nigeria: The nexus and implications for democracy and governance. Simulacra, 4(1), 101-114.
Nyam, A. (2015). An analysis of the 2003 and 2007 electoral violence in Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria).
Obijekwu, M. I., Orji, F., & Nkechi, U. E. (2019). Independent National Electoral Commission and the Rest of Us: A Critical Evaluation of Its Vision and Mission. IGWEBUIKE: African Journal of Arts and Humanities, 5(2).
Odusote, O. T. (2021). Investigating and Prosecuting Corruption in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis of Legal and Institutional Frameworks (Doctoral dissertation, University of Surrey).
Ogbeidi, M. M. (2010). A culture of failed elections: Revisiting democratic elections in Nigeria, 1959-2003. Historia Actual Online, (21), 43-56.
Ogbu, D. C. (2021). Post Legislative Scrutiny as a Mechanism for Effective Legislation. IJLDLR, 10, 1.
Oji, R. O., Eme, O. I., & Nwoba, H. A. (2014). Political party funding in Nigeria: A case of Peoples Democratic Party. Nigerian Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 62(1889), 1-18.
Okoye, K. E., Ezugwuorie, C., & Onah, F. (2020). Choice-less Choice in the 2019 Presidential Election: Towards the Intrigues Perfected by the Electoral System in Nigeria. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(3), 122-122.
Omilusi, M. (2017). From convenient hibernation to circumstantial desperation: hate speech, party political communication and the Nigeria’s 2015 general elections. Revista Brasileira de Estudos Africanos= Brazilian Journal of African Studies, 2(4).
Omotola, J. S. (2010). Elections and democratic transition in Nigeria under the Fourth Republic. African Affairs, 109(437), 535-553.
Omotola, S. (2010). Explaining electoral violence in Africa’s’ new’democracies. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 10(3), 51-73.
Onuoha, F. C. (2011). Small arms and light weapons proliferation and human security in Nigeria. Conflict Trends, 2011(1), 50-56.
Oyewole, S., & Omotola, J. S. (2022). Violence in Nigeria’s 2019 general elections: trend and geospatial dimensions. GeoJournal, 87(3), 2393-2403.
Stohl, M. (2007). We have met the enemy and he is us: The role of the faculty in the internationalization of higher education in the coming decade. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3-4), 359-372.
Sule, B., Sani, M. A. M., & Mat, B. (2017). Independent National Electoral Commission and campaign financing monitoring in Nigeria: The 2015 general elections. Journal of International Studies, 13, 15-31.
Udoka, A. B. (2016). Dances of Africa: From Lived Experience to Entertainment. Critical Stages, 13.
Yacob-Haliso, O., & Adesiyan, V. (2020). Political parties, independent national electoral commission, and electoral credibility in Nigeria. In Governance and Leadership Institutions in Nigeria (pp. 211-238). Routledge.
Authors who publish with Tamaddun journal agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain the copyright and grant Tamaddun the right of first publication. The work will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits others to share the work with proper acknowledgment of the authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors may enter into additional non-exclusive agreements for the distribution of the published version of their work (e.g., posting it to an institutional repository or including it in a book), provided that the initial publication in this journal is acknowledged.
3. Authors are encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal websites) before and during the submission process. This can lead to productive exchanges and increase the visibility and citation of the published work.
