Analysing emerging issues in Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election

Nigeria’s Fourth Republic witnessed seven uninterrupted presidential and other elections from 1999, an unprecedented feat that signalled stability in Nigeria’s democratic experiment. From 1999 to 2019, presidential elections exhibited the same character and predictability, but the 2023 Presidential Election was different in many ways. This study analyses in detail the emerging issues that heralded the process and conduct of the 2023 Presidential Election and carefully highlights the new developments and changes. The study is based on an interview method research design and data were collected from various sources including both primary and secondary sources. Documented sources were used to complement the other data sources. The collected data was grouped and analysed using thematic interpretations. The study reports that the 2023 Presidential Election portrayed some significant changes from what was obtained including the emergence of a third force, the controversy over the 25 per cent Federal Capital Territory Abuja requirement and the Bimodal Verification Accreditation System issue. The study concludes that these unprecedented issues affected voting behaviour and the outcome. The study recommends, among other things, that Nigeria should consider the option of fully digitised voting and remove the constitutional ambiguities surrounding the minimum requirements for declaring a winner.