Electoral Crisis and Democracy in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of elections as it affects democratic practice in Nigeria. The focus, among others is on the 2007 general elections that has continued to raise the spectre of fear, vociferous comments and threat to the unity of the country.The crux of the matter is that elections that are not transparent do deny the victor his right to legitimacy and as a result encumbers social and economic development of the country. The dissatisfaction could turn certain mundane or dormant factors into a catalyst that could endanger the survival of the nation in all its ramifications.While placing the major blame of the failure on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)- Nigeria’s electoral commission, the paper holds that there is still a major role to be played by all stake holders in the country. The point raised in this regard is that the electorate itself should be able to protect its interests from those of the politicians and not to turn around later to blame the system for a failure it participated in. In line with this reasoning, the paper has offered some other suggestions that may assist the political system solve some of its inadequacies.

Keywords: Elections, democracy, crisis, transparency