NZEKWE, JOHNPAUL (2026) ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF IMO STATE 2015-2025. Other thesis, GODFREY OKOYE UNIVERSITY, ENUGU.
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Abstract
This study examines electoral participation and political development in South East Nigeria, with a specific focus on Imo State between 2015 and 2025. This study was motivated by the need to fill the gap in localized, empirical analysis of electoral participation in Imo State over a defined decade, focusing on how voter engagement and the conduct of elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have influenced democratic development in the region. Anchored on Institutional Theory, the study adopts a qualitative research design with a case study strategy, relying on documentary data from INEC reports, academic literature, civil society publications, and media documentation. Two research questions guided the investigation: the extent to which voter participation impacted democratic development in Imo State, and how INECs conduct of elections affected democratic outcomes. Correspondingly, two hypotheses were tested: that voter participation weakened democracy due to low voter turnout, and that INECs conduct undermined democratic development through electoral irregularities. The findings reveal a consistent and alarming decline in voter turnout across three major election cycles from 32.4% in 2015, to 27.3% in 2019, and 22.7% in 2023, representing a cumulative reduction of nearly ten percentage points. This decline was driven by factors including political apathy, insecurity, socioeconomic deprivation, vote-buying, and the perception that electoral outcomes are predetermined by elites rather than determined by ballots. Analysis of INECs performance documented persistent challenges including logistical failures, result manipulation, partisan conduct by electoral officials, security lapses, and recurring post-election disputes that required judicial intervention. While technological innovations such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) represented genuine reform efforts, they proved insufficient to overcome deeper institutional weaknesses. The study concludes that democratic development in Imo State has been constrained by a self-reinforcing "democratic credibility trap" in which institutional failures reduce voter participation, and low participation in turn reduces political pressure for institutional reform. Both hypotheses were affirmed by the evidence. The study recommends comprehensive reforms targeting INECs field-level implementation, strengthened internal accountability, security restoration, civic education, poverty reduction, and the enforcement of laws against electoral malpractice.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Other) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Management and Social Sciences |
| Depositing User: | CHIBUEZE EZE |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jul 2026 14:45 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jul 2026 14:45 |
| URI: | http://eprints.gouni.edu.ng/id/eprint/6104 |
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