2015 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN EBONYI STATE

Abstract

The broad task of this paper was to examine 2015 gubernatorial election and democratic consolidation in Ebonyi State Nigeria. The paper interrogated the outcomes of the 2015 gubernatorial elections and democratic consolidation in Ebonyi state. Ebonyi as a young state was seriously facing the challenges of good governance and democratic consolidation from its creation in 1996 to the present day. The outcomes of the 2015 general elections made it possible that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had landslide victory, and is in control of the state. The PDP led government in the state was finding difficult to address the challenges facing the state such as payment of the new minimum wage, poverty, and unemployment. The party in power has through the institution of the State House of Assembly amended local government and development centre laws to suit the prebendalist leadership style without considering the implications of the amendment on the democratic consolidation. So the manner in which the present government in Ebonyi state controlled the administration of the state, posed difficult for democracy to be consolidated. The paper adopted the Marxian theoretical perspective in analysing the study. The findings showed that the outcomes of the 2015 general elections were not truly reflecting the will and the expectation of the people, and so democratic consolidation appeared a mirage in the state. It recommended that elections should be staggered to enable INEC and other electoral institutions to ensure free, fair and credible outcomes in the future elections in Nigeria.