The recently concluded presidential election in Nigeria was met with various reactions, as numerous Nigerians took to the polls to cast their votes in hope of electing a leader with the best capacity to curb the increased dilapidations and cause a change in the social, economic, and political status quo. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Party, the emerging winner, was declared the President-Elect, with PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi clinching the second and third positions respectively. However, the low voter turnout recorded has been the salient concern as the country prepares for the gubernatorial election.
Since the return of the democratic system in 1999 after series of military interventions, Nigeria has enjoyed uninterrupted democracy, the longest since the independence in 1960. The aversion of most Nigerians to elections and politics generally has been evident. However, the recently concluded presidential and National Assembly elections experienced a new low in the suffrage apathy. Despite being Africa’s largest population and biggest economy, about 93 million Nigerians were registered to vote in the 2023 general election.
Lagos, Kano and Rivers recorded less than 40% of voters voted.
Prior to the commencement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, immense scarcity of petrol and a severe cash crunch ravaged the social space, further complicating the living status quo in the country. This situation ensured an increased interest in the impending electioneering process by Nigerians, the youths especially. In spite of this increased interest, the voter turnout still experienced an abysmal performance, the lowest turnout since the country’s independence. No state across the country recorded over 40 percent turnout.
Based on voter’s registration, Lagos Kano and Rivers, the states with most voter’s registration, less than a third of the registered voters came out to cast their votes. Rivers state, for instance, had an abysmal 15.6 percent turnout, the lowest recorded across the 36 states, despite having more eligible voters. The national turnout was at 29 percent, the lowest participation rate since Nigeria’s independence. Despite about 87.2 million of 93 million registered voters collecting their permanent voters card, the actual voters during the first leg of the election was about 24.9 million, with barely 9 million voters voting for the President-Elect.
INEC’s late deployment of officials & materials affected the low turnout.
According to reports, elections had been witnessing a decline in the voters’ turnout since 2011. In the 2019 election, a turnout of about 34.75 percent. Only 26.6 million voters enacted their right to vote out of the registered 82 million eligible voters. President Buhari, the winner of the 2019 presidential election, was Re-elected with only about 15 million votes in a country where more than half the population was within the legal age to vote. According to data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance disclosed that the 2019 election recorded the lowest rating across recent elections in Africa. Now, the 2023 election even records a worse outcome than the 2019 election.
Factors such as apathy and the lackluster economic outlook have been considered to have affected the low turnout. However, reports has disclosed that the contribution of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was also evident in its late deployment of electoral officers and materials to the various polling units. Ms. Idayat Hassan, Director of the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) noted that the low voter turnout could be as a result of democracy’s failure in delivering developments.
Voter turnout decline places Nigeria in top 10 countries.
In the 1999 election, 30.2 million voters of the 57.9 million registered individuals voted. Over the next election in 2003, there was an increase in both the numbers of registered citizens and voters, with 42 million out of 60 million registered individuals voted. In 2007 however, there was a drop in the number of voters, despite an increase in the number of registered voters. Only 35.3 million of the 61.5 million voters casted their votes. This decline placed Nigeria amongst the 10 countries with the lowest voters turnout world wide. Ahead of the gubernatorial election, Ms. Idayat Hassan however urged the electoral body to further enhance its election management.
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Low voters turnout in Nigeria’s election. – Only 24.9 million of the recorded 93 million registered voters cast their votes. – Express your point of view.
The 2019 election had the lowest rating among recent elections in Africa, according to data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
There was really a very low voters turn out in the elections. I just hope more people can come out in the gubernatorial elections. We need to choose our own leaders.
The lack of petrol and money assured that Nigerians, particularly young people, were more interested in the upcoming election process.
Initially people had intended to go all out for the presidential election so as to shape the future but majority was impede by the cash scarcity in the country. Some did not even have transport fare to go to their various voting places.
Many Nigerians voted in the country’s recent presidential election, hoping to choose a leader who will reverse the country’s worsening economic and social conditions.
As the country gets ready for the election of governors, the most pressing concern has been the historically low voter turnout that has been reported.
The reduction in the number of vote cast across the country will continue to reduce unless lots of this change.e.g.voter apathy,not credibility of the electoral process, bribery and corruption from the INEC.
It has been hypothesized that disinterest and pessimistic projections on the state of the economy were contributors to the low voter turnout.
Among the states with the highest number of registered voters, fewer than a third of those voters actually cast ballots.
There is a possibility that the low voter participation is due to the ineffectiveness of democracy non delivering developments.
A large percentage of the population participated in the recent presidential election in Nigeria in the hopes of electing a leader who will improve the country’s deteriorating economic and social climate.
The low rate of voting could be a symptom of the failure of democracy to deliver on its promises.
The low voter’s turn out in Nigeria elections is no more a surprise. Even if people come out to vote, same rigging of election would have happened… What different does it make?
I feel were unable to vote due to the cash constrain issue some persons would be like, let me stay at home (make person no go faint for polling unit)…
Low voters turnout in Nigeria’s election. I no believe INEC, they are fake. How do they know the turnout since results was not transmitted from the polling unit. Is it after rigging the election or how do they get the figures. When election was not transmitted. See Scammers talking about turnout when they have failed us. INEC is enemy of Nigeria.
There is low voter turn over people don’t come out and vote to choose their leader it is people right to come out and vote shortage of cash and fuel issue during that time make people unable to come out and vote
Low turnout of voters for the election were due to the threat on people’s lives, late arrival of INEC officials to polling unit, numbers voters swap and billot box snatching couple with the irregularities of INEC officials.
The election experienced a low turnout of voters because people’s lives were under threat and some believe that either you vote or not the government of the day already have their candidate for presidential position why should they stress themselves.