Political Parties and Credible Elections in Nigeria: Emerging Issues

Abstract

Elections and political parties are interwoven in Nigeria as one cannot exist without the other. This is because political parties are the vehicles and platforms through which candidates emerge. Thus, political parties and credible elections are the hallmarks of democracy. However, issues such as internal party democracy and the extensive use of money in the conduct of elections among others in the country have remained a major source of worry for the nation. This paper is set to examine the role of political parties in promoting credible elections as well as the emerging issues that are working against Nigeria’s democracy. The paper adopts the secondary source of data and applies structural functionalism as its theoretical framework. Findings revealed that the lack of internal party democracy and electoral malpractices are so endemic that it has affected the growth of democracy and credible elections. The paper therefore recommends a strong strict adherence to the Electoral Act on campaign expenses as a way of sanitizing the polity