Hadiza's Blog

By Hadiza Abdulrahman  Since the 2015 general election, there have been 125 electoral offenses filed before various courts across the country. Out of which  60 convictions  have been secured according to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) Professor Mahmoud Yakubu. Nigerians have had to contend with Electoral Malpractices for two decades,  from 1999 to 2019  elections which have been tainted by  fraud or misconduct  such as bribery, vote buying, rigging and other vices. The consequences of these offences have continued to affect the nation adversely. Many Nigerians believe that these factors have made it more difficult for credible candidates to win elections and had out-muscled individuals who truly wanted to serve. Implication of Electoral Misconduct Today, many citizens have lost confidence and trust in the electoral system and the commitment of the government towards credible polls, resulting in  Political Apa...

A young man displaying his PVC  By Hadiza Abdulrahman Elections have been the main method of implementing representative democracy in contemporary times. It allows anyone to vote and run for office.  In Nigeria, the first elections held after the military took power in 1993 were those of the Fourth Republic. Though, the country has held elections since 1959, with a variety of political parties.  Indeed, voting must take place for elections to succeed, and that explains why it serves as the mechanism by which the electorate, or people, select representatives to serve in their governments.  However, as a result of their lack of confidence in the political system or the electoral process, many Nigerians, particularly the youth, have come to believe that election results are often fixed before voters even cast their ballots.  The question then is: why do candidates for public office still run if your vote has no real impact?  Number of Completed Voter Re...