An analysis of political defection in Nigeria’s political parties and the 2023 General Elections

Abstract

Political defection has become a reoccurring, frequent and increasing phenomenon which obstructs, intercepts and disrupts political and institutional stability in Nigeria’s democratic landscape. This paper investigates the phenomenon of political defection with emphasis on the Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections. The paper provides an insight on the propelling factors of party switching in Nigeria’s democratic landscape particularly in the last General Elections. The research identifies the implication and consequences of the phenomenon, which includes dampening of public trust in the democratic process and weakening of democratic institutions. This study employs basically secondary sources of data collection such as books, journals, articles, newspapers and other internet materials. The paper also adopts Elite and Rationale Choice theory, which postulates that a small minority group (power brokers) in political parties tends to strategically manoeuvre and manipulate the entire members to achieve personal or group interests. The paper also discusses the cases that were propelled by lack of transparency, imposition of candidates, marginalization of other party members in party affairs, ethnic and religious sentiment. The study observed that the high-profile defections experienced in Nigeria’s 2023 General elections altered the political landscape, and consequently turned PDP into a Principal victim while APC became the principal beneficiary. The paper therefore recommends Electoral reforms and Constitutional amendments to curb reoccurring defections.