POLITICS OF INCONCLUSIVE ELECTION IN NIGERIA’S FOURTH REPUBLIC AND THE ROLE OF INEC IN 2019 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
Yau Idris Gadau
Volume 10 Issue 1
Abstract
Election is one of the vital processes that allow citizens to select their representatives who will take charge of their decision-making process for a specific period stipulated under the Constitution. The conduct of elections throughout the world has not been conducted without some degree of malpractice which led to the cancelation of the election result and was declared inconclusive, the Nigerian Fourth Republic particularly the 2019 gubernatorial election witnessed massive sparked of an inconclusive election. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of INEC in curbing phenomenon of inconclusive election during the 2019 gubernatorial election in Northern Nigeria. The paper used a qualitative research approach to get the relevant data from the selected informants from Bauchi, Plateau, and Kano, in which 9 informants were selected and interviewed comprised INEC, Political Parties, security agencies, and judiciary staff were selected as informants in which 12 informants were interviewed. The paper found that the introduction of higher technological devices in the election process has indicated that INEC has taken a vital step toward reducing the tendencies of inconclusive elections using PVC and a card reader machine to checkmate the total accredited voter-card in that polling unit, introduced inter-agencies advisory and voter education at all levels, and organizing workshops and seminar training for its members regularly to acquaint new knowledge of using machines and other created electronic devices during the election process. The study recommends the government and the election commission should stick to the laws and electoral acts in the conduct of the election process. Keywords: Election, Inconclusive Election, INEC, Fourth Republic, 2019 Gubernatorial Elections
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