Abstract

This paper is on the political economy of electoral violence in Nigeria from 1999 to 2023. It is informed by the fact that electoral violence has been a recurrent phenomenon in Nigerian politics since independence in 1960. However, the propensity of electoral violence in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, which is occasioned by intimidation, fear of ethno-religious dominance, and imposition of candidates, has continued to plague Nigeria’s electoral process and seems to have far reaching implications for the corporeality of the country. Although there exists a body of literature on electoral violence in Nigeria, extant literature is anchored on the implications of electoral violence for ethno-religious relations and the country’s internal security. The paper is therefore aimed at examining and adopting the political economy paradigm in underscoring the menace of electoral violence in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. The paper employed the use of qualitative and quantitative sources of historical data. The study established that elections in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic are hardly free and fair. They are manipulated in favour of a particular person or group of persons so as to ensure the control of power and distribution of wealth among friends, political associates, and kin groups. To curtail the menace of electoral violence, the paper recommends a holistic restructuring of the 1999 Constitution to resolve issues of high wages and allowances of political office holders. The paper also recommends the dismantling of the country’s current political party structure and the advance of the introduction of two major ideologically driven political parties.

Keywords: Elections, Violence, Manipulations, Rigging, Political Economy.