MEASURES CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS ERADICATION OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA'S FORTHCOMING 2019 GENERAL ELECTION

Abstract

Electoral violence connotes all forms of violence (physical,2psychological, administrative, legal and structural) at different stages engaged in  by participants, their supporters, and sympathizers (including security and election management body staff)  in the electoral  process. The broad objective  of the study  is to provide  contributions towards eradication of electoral violence in the forthcoming 2019 general election. The ex-post facto research design was employed for this study and secondary sources of data collection were utilized through the review of theoretical and empirical literature relevant to the study. The study adopted the Marxian theory of Conflict for its theoretical framework analysis. Findings show that electoral violence manifest in various dimensions which are pernicious and potent in undermining fair contest. To this end, the paper recommends improvement in the security outfit;  the security and other security agencies need to be strengthened to enable them perform effectively during the election

period. Mass reorientation education of the citizens by the National Orientation Agency, Political Parties, Civil Society Organizations  and the Mass Media  on the2dangers of electoral  violence and possible punishments for offenders and Punishing electoral violence offenders;the best way to address issues of electoral violence is to punish electoral offenders. The national parliament should enact laws so that any person found as contributing to electoral violence by a competent court shall have between five to 10 years in prison with fine irrespective of his or her status.

Keywords: Election, Electoral violence, Eradication and Sustenance of democracy.