THE 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS AND VOTER APATHY IN NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Voting, in a free and fair manner, is the most crucial aspect of representative democracy. This is so because it is through votes that government is constituted and policies made that shape the overall superstructure of society. Voting protects democracy and allows electorates to hold leaders accountable. In Nigeria’s election process, a simple majority determines the outcome indicating the value of even a single vote. Despite the importance of voting, in the case of Nigeria’s 2023 general election, the turnout of voters which represents 26.72%, was the lowest since 1999, showing the highest degree of voter apathy. This work aims to examine this phenomenon of voter apathy with reference to northwest Nigeria. The north-west was so significant in Nigeria’s 2023; with 22, 672, 373 eligible voters at the time of 2023 elections, the north-west has 23.8% of voters, and thus the highest number among the six Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. However, the north-west had also one of the lowest voter turnouts during the presidential election with Jigawa (41%), Kaduna (32.5%), Katsina (31.2%), Kano (30.6%), Kebbi (30.2%), Sokoto (30.4%), and Zamfara (28.04%). This situation in which none of the seven states of the north-west obtained 50% voter turnout is worrisome for the future of Nigeria’s democracy. It is therefore appropriate to interrogate the factors for voter apathy in the north-west geopolitical
zone to improve the standard of democracy in the country in general. The study will collate qualitative and quantitative data from both primary and secondary sources.