Election Rigging In Nigeria -By Tosin Adesokan

It is paramount and crusial for us to know how important the word ” Election” in political context is because it is the only way people can participate in decision making process of the country. As a necessary feature of a good Democratic System of government , it is a known fact that government need to be changed with the adequate time provided by the Constitution to curb arbitrariness in government . But what then happen when the final hope of government is likely to be manipulated ? Confusion governs people and dilemma rules their mind .

Election rigging Can be seen as the act of dishonesty organizing an election to get a particular desired result through fraud and interferences with the election process . This above definition is not a virgin to Politicians, Political analysts and people that the development of the society welfare are concerned. To be candid, most of Nigerians believe that whenever an election is coming up, even without any evidence to prove it, they will conclude within their minds that the election will be rigged later. Re- occurrence of these unpleasant ideas, scene or myth are the factors that associated with the mentality of election rigging in Nigeria.Rigging of election has become the surest route of electoral victory in Nigeria even in a crook ways.

However, activities such as riot, snatching of ballot boxes, disputes among political parties, illicit printing, and usage of Voter’s Card ( PVC), false declarations and vote buying which is the latest in the country nowadays. A lot of factors are necessitated for the election rigging. It should be noted in minds that election rigging problems Nigeria from 1959 till dates were full of fraudulent acts and irregularities. Those problems are now the fundamental banes facing the country today. In Nigeria, victories in elections is now the matter of ” do or die” now. Election rigging are deteriorating the country standard of democracy in Nigeria which now put the country into higgledy-piggledy condition. It is worthy to be noted that all crimes have their motives , these political crisis also have their sources related to Election Rigging.

Corruption and poverty are regarded as the chief causes of the problem which has been a bane to the country. The sympathetical nature of the economy of the country turned the inhabitants to poor and needy people. Those in political power see these as a golden opportunities to cheat and deceive the poor masses. They offering mere foods and money to the desperate destitute people who have no means of surviving the hardship of the nation to trade their vote even the smallest amount of money or making promises in which they have no intention of fulfilling them. Instability in the economy of the nation can also leads to rigging of election, political aspirants seek political offices for the purpose of them self just to milk their own baby with the collective property of the country. Unqualified staffs in Electoral Commission, they normally engage temporary staff during election periods in other to lift up poverty level in the country just to help poor and the needy people in the society, the problem with the temporary staff is that they can normally be influenced or they are easily deceived into electoral malpractices. The independence of the judiciary is not totally guarantee in nowadays Nigeria’s system of government the persistence of the government to judiciary issues should be halted. As it was once written by Baron De Montesquieu in his book ( the spirit of law) that there must be separation of political power among the organs of government. Indiscipline of the security agents, they are also being used as tools of winning election. The electoral commissions are also trying to eliminate the illegal act of rigging elections, but feather is feign their hen’s sweat, because different methods of rigging election are now many. In the year 1959, the early year of democracy in Nigeria, ways of rigging election then are the making use of tugs, hooligans in other to snatch ballot boxes across the nation , many properties will be vandalized, many people will be homeless and hopeless.

Later, another method was adopted which is manipulation of Voter’s Cards and voters, duplication of cards, they will import people from different places to vote for them which is supposed not to be at all. This method was also conquered by the introduction of machines to scrutinize the voters and their cards, for the of being caught by the government this method was razed .Venality, as the new method of rigging election is what is going on in the country now with the slogan ” vote and have the money”, it can simply be called vote buying system, the more you have money is the more you will win elections, the politicians have turned money to their manifestos. Election is now a Labour market where people negotiate prices of their votes ,the issue is now becoming alarming , proper measures should be taken.

Tosin Adesokan

Writes From Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.