EVALUATED CREDIBLE ELECTORAL PROCESS, CHALLENGES AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN ISOKO SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE
ABSTRACT
This study evaluated credible electoral process, challenges and good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State. The study examined the electoral process in Nigeria from 1999-2019, assessed the attributes of credible electoral process in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State, the contributions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in ensuring credible elections in Nigeria from 1999-2019, the impact of credible electoral process on good governance in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State, the factors militating against credible electoral process in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State from 1999-2019, and examined the relationship between credible electoral process and good governance in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State. A total of 150 copies of the questionnaires were administered to the respondents in the study area of which appropriate statistical tool was used to analyze the data collected. The research questions designed to guide this study were also answered and the hypothesis tested accordingly. The result of the findings showed that: there is significant relationship between credible election and good governance in Nigeria; there is significant relationship between credible electoral process and good governance in Nigeria; and credible electoral process has positive impact on good governance in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State. The study concluded that the Independent National Election (INEC) have played any significant role in ensuring credible elections in Nigeria from 1999-2019. The study recommended some remedies for credible elections, good governance and conflict free society such as review of the structure, compositions, operations and funding of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) so that it can be autonomous.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE - - - - - - - ii
DECLARATION - - - - - - - - iii
CERTIFICATION - - - - - - - - iv
DEDICATION - - - - - - - - v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - - - - - - vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study - - - - - 1
1.2 Statement of Problem - - - - - - 8
1.3 Objective of the Study - - - - - - 10
1.4 Research Questions- - - - - - - 11
1.5 Statement of the Hypothesis - - - - - 12
1.6 Significance of Study - - - - - - 13
1.7 Scope of the Study - - - - - - 14
1.8 Definition of Key Terms - - - - - 15
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - 18
2.2 Conceptual Framework - - - - - - 33
2.3 Theoretical Framework - - - - - - 45
2.4 Empirical Review - - - - - - - 50
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design - - - - - - 56
3.2 Population of the Study - - - - - - 57
3.3 Sample Size - - - - - - - - 57
3.4Sampling Technique - - - - - - 58
3.5 Method of Data Collection - - - - - 58
3.6 Technique for Data Analysis - - - - - 59
3.7 Model Specification and Variable Definition - - 59
3.8 Measurement of Variables - - - - - 59
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
4.1 Presentation of Data - - - - - - 60
4.2 Discussion of Findings - - - - - - 79
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary - - - - - - - - 80
5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - 80
5.3 Recommendations - - - - - - - 93
References - - - - - - - - 95
Appendix - - - - - - - - 98
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Over the years, elections in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State have been strongly influenced by political will leading to violence both during and after elections. Credible electoral process in Isoko region especially in Oleh has been hijacked in recent times for political gain. However, INEC in all odds have constantly made efforts to conduct a free and fair election even when the atmosphere is always tensed. As observed by Oreva (2021), since the inception of the Nigerian democratic process where leaders have to be elected into various positions by the electorates, there have been challenges posed by ensuring credible electoral processes so as to enhance good governance. This is because elections in Isoko North have been greatly influenced by the ruling party. The ruling party do everything possible to make sure their candidates is declared winner of the election without considering the dyer effects on the electorates.
In the pursuit for good governance Oke (2021) after witnessing the 2019 held election across the federation and the just concluded Local Government election held across the 25 Local Government Areas of Delta State (Isoko South inclusive) advised that, to ensure good governance, there is need for all political sectors to embrace electoral reforms which will give room for credible electoral process thereby ushering free and fair election in the political system where leaders are chosen based on simple majority vote and not selection of favourite candidates. Just recently, after observing the electoral processes in the just conducted House of Assembly re-run election in Isoko, Omugbe (2021) opined that allowing electorates (voters) to vote and later turning things upside down is the height of betrayed that must be resisted if credible electoral process is to be achieved in Isoko region. According to Oreva (2021), voters' education has been acknowledged as a means of sanitizing as well as educating citizens on democratic principles. He observed that, the just concluded 2019 elections were visibly marred by violence, vote buying, logistics and operational debacles and massive rigging.
Elections could be seen as institutionalized procedures for the choosing of office holders by some or all the recognized members of a society. So an electoral system exists to provide the electorate with opportunity and the right to choose their representatives and maintain contact with them. Hence, for an electoral system to be democratic, it must provide for equal electorate and the freedom of the electorates to make a real and meaningful choice devoid of coercion or intimidation (Eminue, 2015). In effect, 'election would be deemed to be democratic-and hence good if it is free and fair and not based on patronage of any kind'. Therefore, elections in Isoko South L.G.A though seen as a means of controlling the government; within context of electorate’s participation reveal a rather disturbing 'state’ that has called for serious concern. Mezu (2017) noted that, indeed the Nigerian electoral process since independence has gained an unenviable reputation for fraudulent practices (Duru, 2012). This situation has forced many to see elections in Isoko South L.G.A as a mirage or a mere 'selection'; selection in the sense that the electorates are left out of the entire system, owing to the fact that elections are conducted with or without the full participation of the electorates, who are supposed to choose those who rule over them. The organization of elections in Isoko South L.G.A have often been carried out without due involvement of the people. The system operates in a way that suggests a total disregard and misapplication of democratic ethos. Thus, the outcome has always been manipulated in favour of candidates of the powerful few. This is unfair and shameful, given the democratic system we opted for. It better telling the people that the leaders would be 'selected' so that they would not bother to queue up in the scorching sun.
Accrdong to Onu (2015), since 1999, elections in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State have continued to recycle in a vicious violent and unimaginable manipulation especially from the political elites. This has attracted the attention of local and international community (Suberu, 2017). The challenges in restructuring the seemingly unbalanced electoral process in Nigeria from transiting power from ruling party to opposition parties peacefully has relegated good governance to the back pew (Rakner and Svasand, 2012). The history of elections in Nigerian state has been characterized by threats to statehood based on the manipulation of ethnicity as divisive mechanism for the acquisition of political power by political actors, the fragile nature of political cum democratic institutions is acquainted with poor democratic culture among Nigerian citizen (Omodia and Egwemi, 2011).
The electoral process is an ideal and integral part of the democratic process, whether in developed or developing societies. A mal-functioning of electoral system inadvertently produces mal-administration. The mal-functioning of electoral system is caused by bad leadership and political instability. Candidates for public office may be elected directly or indirectly. Proportional representation is used in some areas to ensure a fairer distribution of legislative seats to constituencies that may be denied representation under the plurality or majority formulas (Chisholm, 2019). Following the transition from military dictatorship to democracy, the Nigerian-state has suffered several electoral misconducts since 1999. In an attempt to stop this ugly trend, voters' education and effective electoral institution remain integral to a successful conduct of the electoral process especially, in a bid to grow and sustain the democratic process in Nigeria.
Credible elections are indispensable to the establishment and maintenance of democracy. This is because elections, inter alia, provide legitimation for the state and its custodians. In developing countries such as Nigeria, elections have been institutionalized for fostering competitive party politics, taking stock of the performance of leaders at various levels of the polity-national, state, regional, provincial, county and municipal and ensuring the smooth and orderly transfer of the reins of power. Since the emergence of the “third wave of democratization” in the 1990s, the transitional states of election in Nigeria have been attempting to make democratic elections the cornerstone of their emerging political democratization projects. These efforts have resulted in mixed outcomes, with many states especially in Africa still grabbling over conduct of free and fair elections. Several studies suggest that voting behavior in Nigeria is predominantly influenced by some form of identity factor such as ethnicity, family lineages, religion and other sundry factors. Substantial evidence in literature supports the view that average Nigerian is primarily an “identity” voter. In essence, voting in Africa is in many cases nothing more than an ethnic census. An individual voter uses ethnicity as the proxy for the expected benefits for voting for a particular candidate. Simply, voting in Nigeria is considered to be largely dependent on primordial forms of identification (Connor and Robertson, 2019).
Political parties themselves tend to be dominated by ethnic power forces rather than being built on ideological persuasion. Africans are members of two types of political communities in the same temporal and spatial world. On the one hand, they are members of their civic-republican community which is often their ethnic or community group and to which they owe some obligations. At the same time, they are members of the modern national state. Voters’ reflection on this dual citizenship orientation undermines the democratization process as Africans continue to show greater allegiance to their civic republican community. Democracy is underpinned by three essential components: healthy competition among political parties, political participation by the populace in electing their leaders, and a credible electoral process. In a democracy, power and significant decisions in a society is distributed among the population which is carried out by the elected representatives of the people. Viable political parties and credible elections are essential components of a democracy (Miranda and Dieter, 2017). Electoral systems in civilized societies permit the co-existence of different units, tribes, nations and diverse schools of political ideologies and religious beliefs to live in peace and harmony by surrendering their rights to the people they have elected to govern and manage their resources for a given period of time. An effective democracy and electoral system is founded upon the ability to hold free and fair elections, independent and effective electoral umpire, effective policing, and incorruptible and responsive judiciary.
Nigeria has experienced a “horrific cycle of corrupt, inept and despotic civilian and pseudo-civilian rules”. The reason is not far-fetched. The Nigerian political leadership came to power through flawed electoral systems that are always marred by poor organization, lack of transparency, widespread procedural irregularities, and significant evidence of fraud, banditry, and unequal playing field. Other vices commonly experienced in the Nigerian electoral process include unjust disqualification of candidates, stealing of data capturing machines, politically bias police and until recently a biased umpire, INEC. Elections in essence are institutionalized processes by which the electorates choose those who will represent them in government and exercise the authority and power of government (Charles, 2014).
In every democratic system of government the like of which is being practiced or operate din Nigeria, elections represent institutionalized procedures for the choosing of persons who should occupy and exercise political power and authority by some or all the recognized citizens of the country as legally competent to participate in the electoral process. The purpose of an electoral system is to provide the electorates of any given democratic state the opportunity to choose their representatives and maintain contact with them. Not just equally opportunity to choose, it must also give the electorates freedom to make real and meaningful choices devoid of coercion of intimidation (Eminue, 2012, cited in Beetsen, 2012).
Election in essence is a democratic process of putting people into positions of control of the nation's resources for the good of the entire nation. It is only when the right persons are put into positions of authority via a democratic electoral process that one could hope of getting good governance in return. An electoral process is, said to be democratic only when it is free, fair and credible right from the registration of voters all through the collation and declaration of results of the election. A free fair and credible electoral process is a significant pre-requisite towards the attainment of good government in a democratic system of government. Studies have shown that less attention has been directed towards examining credible electoral process especially relating it to its challenges and proffering solution for a free and fair election. It is against this background that this present study is conducted to evaluate credible electoral process, challenges and good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Statement of the Problem
The electoral process in Isoko South L.G.A has suffered and is still suffering from the malaise of a monetized polity making politics and governance sure short-cuts to becoming billionaire overnight. The electoral processes of past elections in Nigeria have been bedeviled by all forms of electoral malpractices, rigging, electoral violence, manipulations, intimidation, and irregularities among others. Thus the dream of a free, fair and credible election that will usher in men and women with requisite credentials of integrity, transparency, accountability, equity and credibility, towards good governance in Nigeria remains a mirage. Given the monetized polity of Nigeria most especially Isoko South L.G.A, INEC lacks the wherewithal to conduct a free, fair and credibility election comes 2015 in the face of this monster monetized presidential system of government. The Nigeria presidential system of government should be demonetized so that only men and women with genuine heart of servant hood could emerge via credible electoral process for the purpose of good governance. This study therefore seeks to address the aforementioned problems as it affects credible election in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine credible electoral process, challenges and good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State. However, the specific purpose is to;
i. examine the electoral process in Nigeria from 1999-2019
ii. assess the attributes of credible electoral process in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State.
iii. assess the contributions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in ensuring credible elections in Nigeria from 1999-2019
iv. examine the impact of credible electoral process on good governance in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State.
v. examine the factors militating against credible electoral process in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State from 1999-2019.
vi. examine the relationship between credible electoral process and good governance in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State.
Research Questions
i. To what extent the electoral process in Nigeria has failed from 1999-2019?
ii. What are the attributes of credible electoral process in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State?
iii. Has INEC contributed immensely in ensuring credible elections in Nigeria from 1999-2019?
iv. Does credible electoral process have positive impact on good governance in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State?
v. Are there noticeable factors militating against credible electoral process in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State from 1999-2019?
vi. Is there any relationship between credible electoral process and good governance in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State?
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses stated in the null form will be tested in this study;
i. There is no significant relationship between credible election and good governance in Nigeria.
ii. There is no significant relationship between credible electoral process and good governance in Nigeria.
iii. Credible electoral process has no positive impact on good governance in Isoko L.G.A of Delta State.
iv. The Independent National Election (INEC) have not played any significant role in ensuring credible elections in Nigeria from 1999-2019.
Significance of the Study
This research work will be of immense help to the Federal, State and Local Government, Political Analysts/experts, educational professionals, educationists, and all those involved in electoral processes as well as academicians and the general public on the need to take a critical look at credible electoral process, challenges and good governance in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State. This study calls for the need of inculcating credible, free and fair election as a compulsory tool for good governance which will foster better standard of living in Nigerian society at large.
The findings of this study will be of great important to the Nigeria youths, the Nigeria government, political industries, and academicians to include many others. The findings will be of immense use to the youth, for it enlightens them on the need to sue electoral violence and social vices.
The study will also be of immense benefit towards the analysis of factors that will enhance credible electoral process in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State by properly assessing the importance of credible electoral process in achieving good governance in Isoko South L.G.A of Delta State. This study will also be of immense benefit to students, researchers and scholars who are interested in developing further studies on the subject matter.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study is on credible electoral process, challenges and good governance in Nigeria. some of the variables to be addressed are; electoral violence, ballot box snatching, rigging and general manipulation of election results.
However, the study is delimited to Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State. Isoko South Local Government Area has twenty (20) electoral wards at the State level, but there are actually ten (11) electoral wards recognized by INEC.
Operational Definition of Terms
The following key terms as applicable to this study area defined as used;
Ballot box snatching: This refers to the forceful seizure or snatching of the temporarily sealed container to prevent anyone from casting his or her votes.
Challenges: This refers to the difficulties or inability of electoral bodies to allow electorates participate freely in an election due to electoral malpractice or a competitive situation or fight to decide who wins an election in terms of ability or strength.
Credible electoral process: Credible electoral process are characterized by conclusiveness, transparency, accountability, and competitiveness of elections conducted.
Credible: This refers to the act of capability of persuading electorates that the party candidates are the best and will deliver when elected. In terms of election, it refers to the process of organizing a successful election.
Democracy: This refers to a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representation.
Election results: This refers to the declaration of election winner through the results announced.
Election: This refers to the formal process of selecting a person for public office or of accepting or rejecting a political proposition by voting.
Electoral process: An electoral proves is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined.
Electoral rigging: This refers to the act of manipulating election results which involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favoured candidate, depressing the vote share of rival candidates, or both.
Electoral violence: This refers to the behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone during election.
Good governance: This refers to the way in which public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in a preferred way.
Politics: This refers to the way in which we understand and order our social affairs, and acquire greater control over the situation.
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