Civil Society Organizations and electoral credibility in Nigeria

Abstract

Electoral malpractices undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process, the general acceptability of electoral outcomes, and challenges the democratization process in Nigeria. This study examines the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the electoral process and its impact on the credibility of electoral outcomes in Nigeria, with emphasis on the 2019 general election. With evidence collected from documentary sources, we argue that the role of CSOs in the democratization process (before, during, and after elections) is important in advancing democracy in Nigeria. We found that the participation of CSOs in the electoral process of 2019, as significant as it was, was undermined by the paucity of fund, insecurity, administrative bottlenecks, and limited access for monitoring movement of sensitive election materials. We recommend, among other things, that the government set aside support funds for qualified/ accredited Civil Society Organisations in the electoral process to aid them in undertaking their important role in the democratization process.

The role of freedom of communication in modulating the effect of political participation on electoral outcome in Africa

“…The present study is empirically tested with an econometrics model that accounts for estimation biases and differs from these studies in two ways: first, I investigate the global trends of freedom of communication and how it influences the election process and outcome; and second, I aim to determine how freedom of communication modulates the relationship between political participation in Africa. Studies such as those of Onuh and Ike (2021) and Luthuli (2021) analyzed the specific cases of Nigeria and Ghana but differ in terms of objectives as the latter examined the effect of civil organizations on electoral credibility while the former addresses the effect of freedom of expression on civil liberties. The present study seeks to test the hypotheses of the study by adopting a more robust strategy, which is presented now.…”

“…The inspiration for employing freedom of communication to demonstrate the effects of democracy on electoral outcomes in Africa is purposely to draw policy recommendations on how electoral frauds and injustice can be avoided in Africa to reduce political instability during and after elections in the future. The closest studies to this research work are those of Onuh and Ike (2021) and Luthuli (2021) who investigated how civil organizations influence electoral outcomes and political participation in Nigeria and Ghana, respectively. However, these studies did not conduct empirical analysis examining the whole of Africa.…”