Judicialization of the Electoral Process and its Impact on Democratic Process in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper explores judicialization of the electoral process in Nigeria and finds institutional features, judicial behavior and political dynamics and or determinants culpable for the trend in the country. The paper also finds that between 2003 and 2019, there were 3, 979 litigations arising from the conduct of general elections in the country. Similarly, the paper equally reveals that there were 640 pre-election cases and 40 court orders that arose from the conduct of party primaries for the 2019 general elections. The paper also establishes that the judicialization of elections has eroded the majesty of democracy in Nigeria as the vote does not count in the face of courts’ rulings in favour of appellants especially in pre-election cases. Equally too, judicialization of elections takes away the sovereignty of the electorates. In a similar vein, the paper discovers that judicialization of the electoral process breeds voter apathy, wherein, the majesty of democracy lies in the electorates voting at elections. The paper therefore concludes that, until the electoral process in Nigeria is dejudicialized, we cannot talk of majesty of democracy in the country and as such, the country will, at best, remain in the hybrid regime classification of governments around the world. The paper finally proffers some recommendations for addressing the desperation of politicians who seek to influence the normal course of the law among which is an inclusive governance system that will accommodate losers at elections.