Voters’ disposition and the outcome of 2023 general elections in Nigeria

Abstract

The paper sought to discuss the disposition of the voters as it affected the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. The objective was to interrogate the disposition of the voters and its impact on the presidential election. It adopted the qualitative secondary research approach as its research methodology and also relied on grounded theory strategy of inquiry. The paper utilized the rational choice theory (RCT) as its theoretical framework. It found out that the voters were highly mobilized to participate in the electoral process through effective voter education, promise to deploy technology which included INEC voter enrolment device (IVED); Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for both voter accreditation and e-transmission of results for collation; and the INEC results viewing (IReV) portal that will offer the public access to view polling units results real-time. Although, the voters’ disposition significantly influenced the outcome of the presidential election, INEC failed to deliver on their promises and changed the rules in the middle of the exercise. It was recommended that the 2022 Amended Electoral Act be reviewed to ensure absolute use of technology to conduct and declare election results as well as embrace the use of e-voting technology utilizing e-ballot papers to allow voting from any location if duly registered, and permit diaspora voting in the democratic system in Nigeria.