INSECURITY AND VOTERS REGISTRATION IN NIGERIAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

Getting registered to vote is a necessary step in the democratic process that
allows a person to cast a ballot and be elected to office. It is a must-have for any election to
be taken seriously. A list of registered voters is created from this information and is referred
to as the voter list. The voter list is a useful instrument for election officials as well as the
political system, but it cannot be used effectively unless voters' protection and safety are
guaranteed. One of Nigeria's most distinctive democratic features has been the prevalence of
election violence. The situation has only worsened, undermining the Fourth Republic's efforts
toward democratization. Violence against political opponents, citizens, and the system as a
whole is rising, as evidenced by an increase in physical, psychological, and structural
manifestations of the problem. This has almost always resulted in a sense of unease,
indifference toward elections, and a crisis of legitimacy in the political system. There are very
few systematic academic studies on the importance of election security in maintaining
Nigeria's democratic culture, despite the devastation caused by prolonged electoral violence.
This study, then, aims to investigate the link between election security and Nigeria's
democratic consolidation via secondary data collection sources. It has been discovered that
the danger to electoral security comes from several interconnected variables that emerge at
various points during the voting process. Because of this, the dominant coercive approach to
electoral security, which is based on the erroneous notion that undesired actions on Election
Day are the primary danger to electoral security, is completely inadequate to address electoral
insecurity. To provide a conducive atmosphere for "good politics" and participatory
democracy in the country's 4th republic, the research suggests democracy-friendly policies
that extend across the three stages of the electoral process for electoral security
administration.