Proceedings of the National Assembly of the Social Science Assembly of Nigeria, 2020
DOI: 10.36108/ssan/ConfPro/0202.05
Highlighting the Nature, Manifestations, Causes and Implications of Vote Buying for Democratic Governance in Nigeria
Okechukwu Innocent Eme
Department of Public Administration & Local Government, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
And
Jude Ani
School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Abstract
The recent off-season Ekiti, Edo, Anambra, and Osun State governorship elections were blighted by vote buying, among other malpractices. Vote buying has become an obscene phenomenon that increases in every election in Nigeria without any decisive official response to counteract it. The practice bodes ill for the 2023 general elections which might end up being decided by the size of the ‘bribe budget’ rather than the choice of citizens. Vote buying, a reciprocal system in which political candidates secure votes in exchange for gifts or money, has long become part of politics in Nigeria. Well-funded incumbents and other politicians with fat purses often benefit from this practice in national and local elections. Since This paper argues that money has become the deciding factor in Nigerian politics, and that serves the purposes of consolidating elite rule as well as the political exclusion of the non-elite. It is based on this premise that the study attempts to highlight the nature, manifestations, causes and implications of vote buying for democracy in Nigeria. Methodologically, the paper used documentary method and data were generated through the secondary sources and used content analysis. The theoretical framework of analysis for the study was anchored on the theory of good governance. The findings of the study reveal that despite the efforts by government to address this challenge via bureaucratic and legislative institutions, vote buying still discourages conscientious people from participating in electoral politics and causes citizens to lose faith in state institutions. The consequences of vote buying are many and include unduly raising the cost of elections thereby shutting out contestants with little finances and promoting political corruption. Among the implications include compromising credibility, legitimacy and integrity of elections. This paper concludes by positing that money politics is at the heart of the general crisis of democracy and governance in Nigeria, and unless this is mitigated, reforms aimed at bringing about good governance and curbing other anomalies in the political system may not produce the desired results. Vote buying must be checkmated to guarantee the right of the people to freely exercise their democratic franchise.
Keywords: Political finance, Vote buying, electoral laws and regulations, democratic governance & Nigeria.