Independence of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Nigeria Electoral System: Question Unanswered 51 17
Keywords:
INEC, Independence, Electoral System, Democracy, NigeriaAbstract
The issue of independence is critical in the democratic development of Nigeria and the integrity of the electoral system in Nigeria and therefore INEC's independence must be a concern. The research investigates the independence and consequences of INEC to the conduct of free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Nigeria. Although the Constitution mandates INEC to be an independent electoral management body, there are concerns of political interference, election personnel selection, financial dependency and restrictions on INEC operations and influence of the executive branch. The study highlights the role of technologies and electoral reforms in enhancing elections' management, but institutional and political difficulties remain today that limit the effectiveness of these technological tools. It urges improvement in INEC's independence as key to strengthening the democracy and electoral system in Nigeria. The research recommends that there should be a clear appointment process, financial and administrative autonomy, robust legal protection against political meddling and robust sanctions on electoral rules to ensure credible elections and a resurgence of public trust in the Nigerian electoral system.Downloads
References
Aiyede. E. R. (2007). Electoral Laws and the 2007 general elections in Nigeria. Journal African
Elections,6(2),33-54 https:doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2007/v6i2a3
Blais, A., & Mossicote, L (2002). Electoral System. In L. LeDuc, G. M. Niem, & P. Norris (Eds.), comparing democracies 2: New challenges in the study of elections and voting (Pp 40-69). Sage Publications.
Bochsler, D. (2023). Balancing district & party seats: The Arithmetic of Mixed -member proportion electoral system. Electoral studies, 18,102557. hpp:doi.org/10.1016/jelects - udu.2023.10255
Brancati, D., & Lucardi, A. (2019). Why democracy protest do not diffuse. Journal of conflict
Resolution,63(10),2354-2389
Cheeseman, N., & Kianyinga, K. (2018). Competition authoritarianism in Africa: Institutions and
election. Journal of Democracy,29(2),109-123
Essex, A., & Goodman, N. (2020). Protecting electoral integrity in digital age: Developing e-
voting regulations in Canada. Election Laws Journal: rules, politics, policy, 9 (2),162-179. Ezeani, E. O. (2005). Electoral process and governance in Nigeria. Snaap Press Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999). Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as
amended). Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Federal Republic of Nigeria (2022). Electoral Act, 2022 Federal Republic of Nigeria. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2026). Electoral Act, 2026.
Haruna, M. M. (2026). INEC yet to receive it budgeting allocation approved for preparation for
2027 election (Vanguard Thursday 26th June 2026).
Jega, A. M. (2015). Electoral Reforms and democratic consolidation in Nigeria. Electoral Institute
occasional paper Journal,9, 15.
Kio, K. (2022). Electoral institutions and identity-based clientelism in Jordan, Political Research.
Quarterly.http//doi :org./10.1111/1911-3846.12734
Norris, P. (2014). Why electoral integrity matters, Cambridge University press
https:doi.org./10.1017/CB09781107280861.
Nwabueze, B. O. (2003). Constitution democracy in Africa. Spectrum Books
Odoziobodo, S. I., & Okibe, H. B. (2019). Between illusion and reality: Interrogating the independence of state independent electoral commission in Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in public policy and Governance, 6(1),1-17 https//doi.org/10.6007/IJARPPG/v6-i1/6175
Ogu, C., & Abraham, M. (2023). Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and conduct of 2023 general elections in Nigeria: A discourse. African Journal of Political and Administrative Studies 16(2), 253-268
Omotala, J. S. (2010). Elections and Democratic Transition in Nigeria under the fourth republic.
African Affairs, 109(437), 535-553.
Oni, E. O., Erameh, N.I., & Oladejo, A. O. (2017). Nigeria's Fourth Republic: Electoral Administration and the Challenge of Democratic Consolidation. African Journal of Governance and Development,6(2),38-72
Orji, N. (2015). The 2015 Nigeria general elections. United State Institute of peace. Sisk, T. D. (2014). International election monitoring sovereignty, and the Western Hemisphere:
The emergence of an international norm. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) which allows unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for any third-party materials included in their article. PJIS encourages authors to acknowledge funding sources and disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
