Dimensions of Vote-Buying and Voters’ Turnout in Nigeria’s 2023 Elections
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Published:
Aug 31, 2024
Keywords:
Dimension, Vote-Buying, Voters’ Turnout, 2023 Elections, Nigeria
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Abstract
Studies have established that giving incentives for votes is extremely widespread in many democracies; however, only little is known about the new dimension of vote-buying in Nigeria's 2023 elections. The study utilized qualitative tools to select four states, 32 interviewees, and 12 discussants. The study revealed that vote-buying increased the voters' turnout and became institutionalized and rampant with ruling parties and general elections rather than off-cycle elections. Voters were enticed with branded materials, financial incentives in kangaroo inducement activities (funeral/birthday/idol ceremonies, cooperative/artisan societies), and temporary social incentives (camouflage community, aged/less privileged assistance, age-grade social competitions). Other dimensions were the payment of salaries to parties' executives and fake committees, the use of community leaders in pretentious social care, and the welfare of their subjects mainly for the exchange of their votes. There is a need for electoral acts to capture these new dimensions and improve the activities of law enforcement agents.
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Fatai Gbadebo Adeleke, Musediq Olufemi Lawal, & Emmanuel Adebayo Akinyemi. (2024). Dimensions of Vote-Buying and Voters’ Turnout in Nigeria’s 2023 Elections. PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development (PJGD), 5(2), 59-79. https://doi.org/10.46404/panjogov.v5i2.5702
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governance in Nigeria. International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches, 6(11), 15 –27
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Why parties conduct rallies in Argentina. Comparative Politics, 45(1), 88–106.
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political development in Nigeria. African Journal of Politics and Administrative Studies, 13(2), 50 - 60
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Weitz-Shapiro, R. (2012). What wins votes: Why some politicians opt out of clientelism.
American Journal of Political Science, 56(3), 568–583.
Yakubu, H.B. (2020). The effects of vote buying on the electoral process in Nigeria.
Journal of Current Issues in Arts and Humanities, 6(1), 75–86.
Aiyede, E. and Aregbeyen, A. (2012).The cost of the 2011 general elections.Journal of
African Elections, 11(1), 136-152. doi: 10.5465/annals.2015.0099
Aliyu, M.K., Olawoyin, K. W. and Bamidele, S. K. (2020). Electoral malpractice as a
challenge to sustainable development in Nigeria. Global Journal of Political Science and Administration, 8(1), 15-25.
Aluaigba, M.T. (2016). Democracy deferred: The effects of electoral malpractice on
Nigeria's path to democratic consolidation. Journal of African Elections, 15(2), 136 – 158
Awogbenle, A. C. (2010). Youth unemployment: entrepreneurship development programme
as an intervention mechanism. African Journal of Business Management, 4(6), 21 – 35.
Babatunde, H.O., Iwu, H, N., &Osuji, A. O. (2019).Money politics and vote buying in
Nigeria's Fourth Republic: Implications for national security. Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(2), 40–55
Chasukwa, M. & Banik, D. (2019). By-passing government: Aid effectiveness and Malawi's
local development fund. Politics and Governance, 7(2), 103–116.
Chernyak-Hai L. & Rabenu E. (2018). The new era workplace relationships: is social
exchange theory still relevant? Organizational Psychology, 11, 456–481. doi: 10.1017/iop.2018.5
Chukwurah, D.C.J., Egodike, E., Nnamani, D. & Nduba, J. (2019). The effect of vote-
buying and 2019 general elections in Nigeria. Nnadiebube Journal of Social Sciences, 2 (2), 1–20
Clark, M. & Monin, J. (2006). Giving and receiving communal responsiveness as love. In R.
J. Sternberg & K. Weis (Eds.), the new psychology of love (pp. 200–223). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Cooper-Thomas H. D. & Morrison R. L. (2019). Give and take: needed updates to social
exchange theory. Industrial Organizational Psychology, 11, 493–498. doi: 10.1017/iop.2018.101
Corstange, D. (2018). Clientelism in competitive and uncompetitive elections. Comparative
Political Studies, 51(1), 76–104.
Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.Official gazette. Abuja, Nigeria: FRN
Publisher.
Cropanzano R., Anthony E. L., Daniels S. R. and Hall A. V. (2017). Social exchange theory:
A critical review with theoretical remedies. Academics Management Annals, 11, 479–516.
Electoral Act (2022). Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, No 61, Vol. 109,
A353–463
Eme, O.I. (2009). Political finance and the future of Nigeria political parties: Agenda for
reform. Nigerian Journal of Administrative Science, 8(1 and 2), 142-162.
Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, (2022).Electoral Act, 2022. Lagos: The Federal Government Printer.
Ferree, K., Gibson, C. and Hoffman, B. (2019). Why the salience of social divisions matters
in party systems: Testing the interactive hypothesis in South Africa. Party Politics, 25(2), 208–220.
Gadjanova, E. (2017). Electoral clientelism as status affirmation in Africa: Evidence from
Ghana. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 55(4), 593–621.
Gonzalez, O. E., Jonge, C. K. and Nickerson, D. W. (2014). The conditionality of V.B.
norms: Experimental evidence from Latin America. American Journal of Political Science, 58(1), 197–211.
Hicken, A., Leider, S., Ravanilla, N. and Yang, D. (2018). Temptation in vote-selling:
Evidence from a field experiment in the Philippines. Journal of Development Economics, 131, 1–14.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, (2022).The global state of democracy 2022: Forging social contracts in a time of discontent. Stockholm: International IDEA.
Ikuenobe, P. (2015). Philosophical perspective on communalism and morality in African
traditions. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Keefer, P. and Vlaicu, R. (2017).V.B. and Campaign Promises.Journal of Comparative Economics, 45(4), 773–792.
Kramon, E. (2018). Money for votes: The causes and consequences of electoral clientelism in
Africa. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Krueger, A.B. and Stone, A. A. (2014). Progress in Measuring Subjective Well-Being:
Moving toward national indicators and policy evaluations. Science, 34(6), 32–43.
Lyons B. J. & Scott B. A. (2012). Integrating social exchange and affective explanations for
the receipt of help and harm: a social network approach. Organization Behaviour Human Decision Process, 117, 66–79. doi: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.10.002
Magaji, M. and Musa, U.A. (2022). Vote-Buying and the electoral process in Nigeria: Trends
and challenges, 2015 –2019. Zamfara Journal of Politics and Development, 3(2), 93 -101.
Mair, J. and Marti, I. (2006). Social entrepreneurship research: a source of explanation,
prediction, and delight. Journal of World Business, 41(1), 36-44.
Mares, I., and Young, L. (2016). Buying, expropriating, and stealing votes. Annual Review of
Political Science, 19, 267–288.
Methot J. R., Lepine J. A., Podsakoff N. P. & Christian J. S. (2016). Are workplace
friendships a mixed blessing? Exploring tradeoffs of multiplex relationships and their associations with job performance. Personnel Psychol. 69, 311–355. doi: 10.1111/peps.12109.
Mitchell M. S., Cropanzano R. S. and Quisenberry D. M. (2012). Social exchange theory,
exchange resources, and interpersonal relationships: A modest resolution of theoretical difficulties in Törnblom K., Kazemi A’s Handbook of Social Resource Theory. eds. New York, NY: Springer. 99–118.
Mueller, S. (2011).Dying to win: Elections, political violence, and institutional decay in
Kenya. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 29(1), 99–117.
Muhtadi, B. (2019). The determinants of vote-buying: The profile of typical vote 'sellers in vote buying in Indonesia. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan
National Bureau Statistics (2023) National population estimate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: Analytical report at the national level. Lagos, Nigeria: Abuchie Publisher, 125.
Nkwede, J.O. (2019). Political parties, citizen participation, and voter behavior in Africa: A
study of Nigeria. European Journal of Scientific Research, 152(1), 83-92.
Nkwede, J.O. and Abah, E.O. (2019). Elections and vote-buying in Nigeria: An albatross
to democratization process. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 24(8), 56-62.
Nwankwo, C. F. (2018). Vote buying in the 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State,
Nigeria. Open Political Science, 1, 93-97. DOI: https//doi.org/10.1515/openps-2018-005.
Oduntan, A. A. (2022). Vote buying: A critical election risk factor in Nigeria.
International Journal of Advanced Academic Research, 8(3), 148 – 156
Oladapo, S.O., Oyewale, A. O. and Abayomi, H. O. (2020). Influence of vote buying
among electorates: Its implications to Nigeria's future democracy. Higher Education of Social Science, 18(1), 73-78
Onuoha, F. & Ojo, J. (2018). Practice and perils of vote buying in Nigeria's recent Elections.
Conflict Trends, 3,21-29
Osimen, G. U. and Iloh, C. E. (2022). Vote-buying, voting behavior and democratic
consolidation in Nigeria. International Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, 3(3), 64– 75.
Ozoemena, A.M. and Evangeline, D.E. (2019). Electoral frauds and challenges of good
governance in Nigeria. International Journal of Contemporary Applied Researches, 6(11), 15 –27
Szwarcberg, M. (2012). Uncertainty, political clientelism, and voter turnout in Latin America:
Why parties conduct rallies in Argentina. Comparative Politics, 45(1), 88–106.
Transition Monitoring Group, (2023). An Election Programmed to Fail: Final Report of the 2023
General Elections in Nigeria. Abuja: TMG.
Transparency International, (2023). Sub-Saharan Africa: Undemocratic regimes undermine
anti-corruption efforts. A continuous struggle in fighting corruption across the region. https://www.transparen cy.org/en/news/cpi2018-subsaharan-africa-regional-analysis
Ugwuala, U.D., Kalu, U. G., and Elechi, F.A. (2020). Electoral fraud is a major challenge to
political development in Nigeria. African Journal of Politics and Administrative Studies, 13(2), 50 - 60
Vasudevan, S. (2019).Diminishing the effectiveness of V.B.: Experimental evidence from a
persuasive radio campaign in India (Working Paper). Poverty Action Lab. Retrieved from https://www.povertyactionlab.org/sites/default/files/research-paper/Diminishing-the-Effect- of-Vote-Buying_Jan2019. pdf.
Vicente, P. C. (2014). Is V.B. effective? Evidence from a field experiment in West Africa.
The Economic Journal, 124(4), 356–387.
Weghorst, K. R., and Lindberg, S. I. (2013). What drives the swing voter in Africa? American Journal of Political Science, 57(3), 717–734.
Weitz-Shapiro, R. (2012). What wins votes: Why some politicians opt out of clientelism.
American Journal of Political Science, 56(3), 568–583.
Yakubu, H.B. (2020). The effects of vote buying on the electoral process in Nigeria.
Journal of Current Issues in Arts and Humanities, 6(1), 75–86.