THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF NIGERIA: AN EVALUATION OF THE JOURNEY SO FAR
Abstract
The conduct of elections is cricial to development in democracies, especially in developing
countries of Africa. The study is an attempt at evaluation of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), which has been conducting elections in Nigeria since 1999. The study
adopted the descriptive research design. Democratic theory formed the theoretical framework of
analysis. Secondary sources of data were employed. Theoretical and empirical literature
relevant to the study was reviewed. The study found that all elections conducted in Nigeria by
INEC have been high-level scams. However, the 2011 and 2015 elections were relatively free
and fair. The conduct of free and fair election in Nigeria by INEC are hindered by a lack of
adequate autonomy from the executive arm of the government, electoral violence, do-or-die
philosophy of Nigerian politicians, who learn nothing and forget nothing on the political
landscape of Nigeria, among other findings. The study recommended that the contributions,
strength and weakness of INEC in Nigeria’s democratization process should be noted in order to
make INEC more result-oriented in the conduct of future elections in Nigeria.
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