AN ASSESSMENT OF CITIZENS DISENFRANCHISEMENT IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

ABSTRACT

The significance of free and fair elections devoid of voter intimidation and suppression in establishing stable democracies cannot be over emphasized. Good democratic governance in any country is as a result of strict adherence to democratic ideas and ideals. In the light of the above submission, this study assessed citizen’s disenfranchisement on the electoral process in Nigeria, using Lagos state as the focus of the study. The study raised a number of questions for which answers were sought through the instrumentality of the quantitative and qualitative research design. The group theory and frustration aggression theory was used to lay a foundation for the arguments contained in the study. The survey method of data collection was adopted with a study population of one hundred samples who were residents in the selected local government areas where voter suppression and disenfranchisement took place. Data collection and analysis was done using the simple percentage. The study discovered that violence is stimulated when citizens are not freely allowed to make rightful choice of their leaders and that this has a long term impact on democratic consolidation in Nigeria. Also majority of the respondents agreed that a good and credible electoral system will strengthen the country’s democracy. Based on the aforementioned findings, the study put forward the following recommendations; use of technology should be enhanced to improve the electoral process and prevent fraud and manipulation, also constant education of citizens about political processes and their rights and duties remains essential. Informing voters helps them spot and expose corruption and hold leaders accountable. Voter education can boost civic involvement and demand for fair elections which will further bolster citizen’s confidence in the electoral processes.