-
Electoral Processes And National Security
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 4]
Page 3 of 4
-
-
-
1.2 Statement of Problem
The
credibility and legitimacy accorded an election victory is determined by
the extent to which the process is free and fair (Garuba, 2007;
Bagaards, 2007). Free and fair election serves the purpose of
legitimizing such government. Elections are therefore considered as
vital and indispensable for determining the democratic nature of a
political system and for ensuring national security. When election is
not satisfactorily managed, it gives room for protest, insecurity of
lives and properties, social explosion, doubts about the institutions,
etc. Factly, election mismanagement is a real and prolific source of
conflicts, violence, insecurity and instability (Hounkpe and Gueye,
2010).
Voters confidence in elections emanate from a
combination of the mechanisms and procedures deployed to count and
record votes and the election officials competence and integrity. These
processes anchored on proactive security to engender confidence.
Understanding the outbreaks of election violence is a complex issue and
one way of addressing electoral violence is to empower the electoral
umpire to secure the process through adequate funding by the state.
However, often, the state fails to adequately fund the umpire thereby
unwittingly compromising the process. For instance, paucity of funds
can affect voter’s turnout due to poor mobilization of voters, this in
turn can affect the outcome of the election result leading to conflicts
and invariably fragility of the state. To guarantee national security,
the electoral umpire should understand the different phases of the
electoral process otherwise known as the indicators of electoral process
and thus craft the needed strategy to secure each phase. For elections
in Nigeria, the electoral cycle can be categorized into three phases
namely the pre-election phase, the Election Day and the post-election
phase. In the context of Nigeria, most security breaches happen during
the post-election phase. The paper therefore focuses on electoral
processes and the concomitant security breaches emanating from such
processes especially those of the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study aims at achieving the following objectives;
1. To determine the causes of insecurity in the 2011 and 2015 presidential post-elections.
2.
To evaluate the different strategies that were put in place to secure
the conduct of the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections.
3. To recommend the necessary measures to be adopted by INEC in enhancing security of elections at every phase.
1.4 Research Questions
In the course of conducting this study answers will be provided to the following questions:
1. What were the causes of insecurity in the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections?
2. What were the different strategies put in place to secure the conduct of the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections?
3. How can INEC secure the electoral processes?
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 4]
Page 3 of 4
-
-
ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This paper examined electoral processes and security challenges in Nigeria with specific reference to the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections. The data for this study were drawn mostly from secondary sources. Systematically, the paper reviewed the conceptions of electoral violence, perspectives on election related violence and security of lives and properties in Nigeria. The major findings of this study reveal that from the 1950s, elections in Nigeria approximated a war that is often waged to ... Continue reading---
