Political Stakes and the Changing Patterns of Elections in Nigeria: A Comparative Assessment of the 2015 and 2019 Presidential Elections

Year 2019, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 175 - 198, 01.01.2020

Cemal Yorgancıoğlu , Dingji Kangdım

Abstract

This article offers a contextual discourse on the nature of political stakes and the changing dynamics of elections in Nigeria by comparing the 2015 and 2019 Presidential elections as its main focus of analysis. Using qualitative technique which involves the use of secondary sources and personal interviews with certain key actors and experts in the political narrative of Nigeria, the article is able to predict that elections and voting patterns are driven by certain agendas and discourses that are not only used by the political actors but by the media and all its communication tools to further project, set and define the key topical issues in the electoral process. These discourses and agenda-setting ultimately influence the pattern and further raise the stakes in the elections given that voters are already stuck with these issues, which ultimately informed their choice of candidate. Thus, within the Nigerian context, these discourses are used to heavily influence voters’ choices and to define the direction of the voting, as evidenced in both the 2015 and 2019 Presidential elections in the country.

Keywords

Nigerian politics, security

Political Stakes and the Changing Patterns of Elections in Nigeria: A Comparative Assessment of the 2015 and 2019 Presidential Elections

Abstract

Bu makale, 2015 ve 2019 başkanlık seçimlerini, analizinin ana odağı ve Nijerya’daki seçimlerin değişen dinamiğinin doğasına ilişkin bağlamsal anlatı olarak karşılaştırmadaki politik rekabeti/çekişmeleri betimlenmektedir. Nijerya’nın politik anlatısında bazı önemli aktörler ve uzmanlarla ikincil kaynakların ve kişisel görüşmelerin kullanılmasını içeren nitel bir araştırma tekniği kullanmaktadır. Makale, seçim ve oylama kalıplarının, yalnızca siyasi aktörler tarafından değil, medya ve tüm iletişim araçları tarafından, seçim sürecindeki kilit güncel konuları daha da projelendirmek, belirlemek ve tanımlamak için kullanılan bazı gündem ve söylemler tarafından yönlendirildiğini tahmin edebilmektedir. Bu söylemler ve gündem belirleme sonuçta modeli etkilemekte ve seçmenlerin, adaylara seçtiklerini bildiren bu konularla zaten sıkışmış olmaları nedeniyle seçimlerde payları daha da arttırmaktadır. Bu anlatılar ve söylemler, ülkedeki 2015 ve 2019 Başkanlık seçimlerinde kanıtlandığı gibi, seçmenlerin seçimlerini yoğun bir şekilde etkilemek ve oylamanın yönünü tanımlamak için kullanılmaktadır.

Keywords

Nigerian politics, security, slections

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