THE DEPLOYMENT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT), POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND NIGERIA’S ELECTIONS, 2015-2023

Abstract

The paper delved into political participation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and elections in Nigeria. Anchored on Digital Democracy Theory (DDT) or E-Democracy as its theoretical framework, the paper made use of secondary sources of data such as textbooks, scholarly journals, newspapers, internet resources, Yiaga African Reports, government publications, etc., as the method of data collection. Data extracted from these sources were content analysed. The paper was therefore designed to examine whether the introduction of ICT has improved the citizens’ participation in elections and to know the implications of citizens’ participation through ICT on democratic stability in Nigeria. The deployment of ICTs in elections has not improved the citizens’ participation because it indicates a downward trend in voter turnout. It portends danger or negative implications to democratic stability. These dangers include democratic ill health, erode legitimacy, weaken democratic institutions, increase the influence of a special group and undermine the substance of representative democracy. The paper concluded that the deployment of ICTs in the conduct of elections have not significantly enhanced voter turnout, thus having debilitating implications on democratic stability in Nigeria. It is recommended that the government should build trust in elections and make citizens’ votes count in order to restore public’s trust in Nigeria’s democracy.

Keywords: Elections, Information and Communication Technology, Political Participation, Democracy, Voter Turnout