Electoral Process and Academics' Voting Behaviour between 1999 and 2015 General Elections in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Electoral process, which is an important ingredient of democracy is faulted with many identified-lapses between 1999 and 2015 general elections. Little attention in the past was paid to the perception of academics on electoral process. This study, therefore, examined the perception of electoral process on voting behaviour of academics in Osun State, Nigeria. Higher institutions were selected and questionnaire was administered to 1437 respondents, 95 respondents were interviewed, observation was utilised and documents were sought. Majority (65.3%) respondents agreed that general electoral process were not credible. Most (56.5%) respondents were passive voters due to poor electoral process. There was association between respondents' perception of electoral process (χ²=22.5), partiality of electoral officials (χ²= 17.9) and voting behaviour. Faulty electoral processes and long distance between voters' residence and polling booths were observed. Negative perception of these processes had negative consequences on their turnout. There is a need for free, fair electoral processes and reforms to improve their voting behaviour.

Keywords: Academics, Voting behaviour, Electoral process, General elections, Osun State