INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION AND THE MANAGEMENT OF ELECTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF 2019 AND 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The 2019 and 2023 General Elections represented an important period for the study of party financing in Nigeria. This study examined the comparative study of how Security Agents impacted on INEC’s management of elections in Nigeria, Rate of voters turnout witnessed by INEC and how vote buying hitched INEC’s conduct of elections in Nigeria. The study collected data using a secondary method of data collection. Secondary data will be obtained from such documents as the Electoral Act, INEC Guidelines for the conduct of the various elections, government and institutional materials, reports of the various domestic and international election observer missions, various researched articles in referred journals and textbooks, Newspaper reports, and various other documented and credible sources of information. The data collected were analyzed and interpreted using thematic descriptive qualitative discussions. The study on 2019 and 2023 general elections found out that Security Agents did not perform creditably well in both 2019 and 2023general election, there was Low Rate of Voter Turnout in 2019 and 2023 general elections. High Level of votes buying hitched INEC’s conduct of 2019 and 2023 general elections in Nigeria. The study therefore recommended that it is important that government should do everything within its powers to cultivate a culture that enthuses voters to play their important part in a democracy characterized as government for, by and of the people.