The chapter examines electoral observers and election credibility during the 2023 General Elections, with a view to underscoring the missing link between the role of election observer groups and the election outcomes. Elections underpin the electorate’s capacity to make informed choices about candidates and programmes, within the context of popular sovereignty. The study employs a qualitative research method to achieve its objectives. Data for the study were collected from secondary sources, including textbooks, newspapers, journals, internet materials, and government publications. Relying on David Easton’s systems theory framework to explain the trajectory of institutions that are involved in elections, a qualitative and interpretive data analysis was adopted. The study reveals that the Bi-modal Voting Accreditation System (BVAS) facilitated the accreditation process of voting, although the devices sometimes malfunctioned in thumbprint recognition. The Civil Society violence group observes cases of violence that led to the disruption of the electoral process on Election Day in at least 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The study recommends that election observers should be involved in the pre-election process, and the judiciary, as the last resort, should discharge its duties without fear or favour.

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Election Observers and the Conduct of Credible Elections in the 2023 General Elections

  • Solomon Adebayo Adedire

摘要

The chapter examines electoral observers and election credibility during the 2023 General Elections, with a view to underscoring the missing link between the role of election observer groups and the election outcomes. Elections underpin the electorate’s capacity to make informed choices about candidates and programmes, within the context of popular sovereignty. The study employs a qualitative research method to achieve its objectives. Data for the study were collected from secondary sources, including textbooks, newspapers, journals, internet materials, and government publications. Relying on David Easton’s systems theory framework to explain the trajectory of institutions that are involved in elections, a qualitative and interpretive data analysis was adopted. The study reveals that the Bi-modal Voting Accreditation System (BVAS) facilitated the accreditation process of voting, although the devices sometimes malfunctioned in thumbprint recognition. The Civil Society violence group observes cases of violence that led to the disruption of the electoral process on Election Day in at least 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The study recommends that election observers should be involved in the pre-election process, and the judiciary, as the last resort, should discharge its duties without fear or favour.