Election security and its implications for strengthening democratic elections in Nigeria

Abstract

Election security, no doubt, plays significant role in ensuring free, fair and credible elections across the world. As feasible as it is, over policing election may have implications on sustaining and strengthening democratic elections. This study, therefore, examines election security and its implications for strengthening democratic elections in Nigeria. This study adopted basically
qualitative approach through the use of secondary data in its investigation. The findings show that the Nigerian government has not adhered to the practice of deploying security personnel for elections in Nigeria. Therefore, it is a continuation of politics by other means. Besides, deploying police and other security agencies may have the implications on democratic elections because it
may lead to much spending on elections, low voters’ turn out in an election, instilling fears among the electorates, exacerbating fatalism between the Police and the electorates which may increase electoral violence, taint on the integrity of election(s), imbibe the political culture of rigging election, etc. The paper recommends among others that there should be moderate deployment of
security agencies in an election so as to reduce the cost expended in the electoral processes in Nigeria.