Democracy at a Crossroads: 2023 General Election in Nigeria, Electronic Results Transmission and Electoral Conflicts

Abstract

Democracy in Nigeria is at a crossroads and in dire need of solutions. This informed the new Electoral Act of 2022. This paved the way for introducing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as a supposed game changer that would guarantee free, fair, and credible elections in 2023. Based on this background, the paper focuses on the 2023 general election in Nigeria and uses the Elite theory as its framework to examine how the failure of BVAS in transmitting results electronically from the polling unit caused electoral conflicts, endangered democracy in Nigeria and marred the conduct of credible and acceptable elections. The data collected through primary and secondary sources revealed that the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit results electronically through the BVAS, as stated in the electoral guidelines, gave rise to manipulations of results by politicians and the elites. This paper argued that all forms of manipulation by politicians, elites and the ruling class that would further endanger democracy in Nigeria must be resisted by the citizens and all lovers of democracy globally. In this regard, it is recommended that INEC must be non-partisan, follow electoral guidelines, and capital punishment for staff of the commission found guilty of electoral fraud. The paper emphasized that the Nigerian-State must be an impartial arbiter before, during and after elections, while civil society groups and the citizens should continue to demand transparency and ask for due process to be followed in elections.