The Political Parties and Political Participation in Rivers State, Nigeria: A Case Study of 2015 General Elections

Abstract

The study reviewed the activities of the political parties and its impact on voters’ participation in the political activities in Rivers State. In pursuit of this objective, the study generated secondary data, and applied content analysis as the tool of analysis. The scope of the study is on the political activities of the various political parties and the arising political issues before, during and after the 2015 general elections in the state. The social exclusion theory was adopted as the theoretical framework of analysis. The study in its findings noted that all the political parties in the state within the period under review carried out various political activities that had significant impact on political participation of the voters in the electoral process and the political system in the state. The study further agreed that all the political parties in the state could be classified as opposition political parties due to its status in the polity at the federal or state levels within the period. The study made some useful recommendations on the modalities to redirect the activities of the political parties to encourage effective participation of the electorates in the political system in the state.

Key Words: Political opposition, political party, political participation, political activities