Policy Brief on Nigeria: – Nigeria’s 2015 General Elections: Crumbling or Consolidating Democracy?

In 2015 Nigerians will go to the polls to elect their next president, state governors and legislators. The elections will mark the fifth multiparty elections in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999 following about 16 years of military dictatorship. Even amidst skirmishes and complains of electoral fraud, the previous elections in 2011 were described by both international and local observers as the most successful the country has ever had and this has raised expectations of further progress and improvement in the electioneering process. However, the optimism for the consolidation of democracy through improved electoral process is seemingly being challenged, by a peevish political and security landscape in the lead-up to 2015.

Download file here