ELECTORAL POLITICS AND THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA

It is a known fact that election is a yardstick to democratic system in any society. Infact, what determines the beauty of a democracy is the conduct of free and fair election. However, Nigeria's democratisation processes have always been marred with electoral irregularities,flaws and manipulations.Since the inception of independent government in 1960,the county's electoral bodies have always been faced with hurdle of conducting elections that would be applauded by both local and international observers.This makes it imperative in this paper to explore electoral politcs and Nigeria's democratic process.The paper infers that untill free and fair election is ensured in the country,enhancing democratic virtues may be a mirage.