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Electoral Processes And National Security
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CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.1 Introduction
Elections are considered as cardinal and indispensable in the practice
of modern democracy. According to Nnoli (1990), “it is closely tied to
the growth and development of democratic political order that is
generally held to be the single most important indicator of the presence
or absence of democratic governmentâ€. Elections, if properly
organized, devoid of rigging and all forms of electoral manipulations
and malpractices do not only establish and entrench democracy, but
confers legitimacy on the leadership that emerges from the process, the
political institutions, policies and programmes that accompany such
administration.
Election has been defined as the manner of
choice agreed upon by people out of many to occupy one or a number of
positions of authority (Nnoli, 2003). Elections have always been the
legitimate way of transferring power from one regime to another through
elections, popular conduct and participation in public affairs is
created in the society (Ugoh, 2004).
The current global
emphasis on democratization has made election an inevitable process of
leadership choice and succession. Obviously, the success of every
conditional democracy is tied to the integrity of electoral process
while the quality of a representative government is also linked to the
capacity of state to evolve viable, transparent and trusted electoral
machinery that will inspire the interest and confidence of broad
spectrum of civil society and contending factors of political society
(Okolie, 2008).
Regrettably, election in Nigeria since
independence has been characterized by violent actions that always
result in socio-economic tension and unrest. This has indeed remained a
recurring decimal in Nigeria’s political life despites efforts at
curbing it. Besides, political violence in the country has been
sustained and reinforced mostly by religious, ethnic and tribal
diversities of Nigeria. For instance, the political violence that
greeted Nigeria’s first and send republics which eventually led to the
military intervention and long spell in the country’s government and
politics. This had its roots in ethnic and tribal considerations.
The Human Right Watch revealed that between independence in 1960 and
1990, Nigeria produced only two elected governments, both later
overthrown in military coups. Nigeria’s military ruled the country for
nearly 30 of 40 years of independence. However in 1999, Nigeria made a
transition to civilian rule. The 1999 elections, which brought a
retired general, Olusegun Obasanjo to power, were blights by such
widespread fraud that observers from carter centre concluded that “it is
not possible for us to make an accurate judgement about the outcome of
the Presidential electionâ€.
Federal and states election in
2003 were again married by fraud as well as serious incidents of
political violence that left over 100 people dead and many others
injured. Human rights watch found that members and supporters of the
ruling party were responsible for the majority of abuses, though
opposition parties also engaged in political violence. Most deaths
occurred where opposing bands of armed gangs fought each other in an
effort to control an area and displace supporters of the opposing
party. Human rights watch documented how ruling party politicians in
the oil-rich Niger Delta mobilized and funded armed groups to help rig
elections. This led to a sustained increase in political violence and
criminality in the region.
Despite the abysmal record of
the 1999 and 2003 elections, the government did not correct the problems
in the next elections. Observers from the European Union described the
2007 elections which brought Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to power, as the worst
they had witnessed anywhere in the world. Human Right Watch estimates
that at least 300 people were killed in political violence linked to the
2007 elections.
The 2011 general elections process under
Atahiru Jega was commended and domestic observers regarding major
improvement in areas like voter registration exercise, accreditation and
counting phases of the elections. The 2011 presidential elections
raised strong domestic expectation, as exemplified by the high turnout
rates, especially in the core Hausa/Fulani states of Northern Nigerian,
where women living in “KULLE†(a king of Islamic nunnery) were mobilized
on religious grounds to vote for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) (Human Rights Watch, 2011).
However, the whole electoral process has been criticized for number of
reasons ranging from under age voting, campaigning during election,
intimidation and political violence. The presidential election was
marred by allegation of vote buying, ballot box stuffing and inflation
of results most noticeable in south eastern Nigeria. Jonathan’s
stronghold were official results in the presidential elections in some
rural areas recorded close to 100 percent voter turnout and parts of
Kanduna, Plateau and Adamawa States with Christian “enclavesâ€. This was
greeted with widespread protest which later turned to violence in
Northern Nigeria (Human Rights Watch, 2011).
The 2011
presidential elections had come and gone, but the “credible†elections
had been stained by the blood of Nigerians who had their lives in the
post-election violence experienced mostly in Northern part of Nigeria.
According to Corinne Dufka, a Senior West African researcher at Human
Rights Watch, “the April elections were heralded as among the fairest in
Nigeria’s history, but were also among the bloodiestâ€.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This paper examined electoral processes and security challenges in Nigeria with specific reference to the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections. The data for this study were drawn mostly from secondary sources. Systematically, the paper reviewed the conceptions of electoral violence, perspectives on election related violence and security of lives and properties in Nigeria. The major findings of this study reveal that from the 1950s, elections in Nigeria approximated a war that is often waged to ... Continue reading---
