The fitful path: Presidential authoritarianism, electoral politics and democratization process in Nigeria since 1999

• Main Authors: Luqman, SAKA, Mohd Sani, Mohd Azizuddin
• Format: Book Section
• Language: English
• Published: College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia 2010
• Subjects: JC Political theory
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/2504/1/Luqman_Saqa_-_The_fitful_path.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/2504/; http://icis.uum.edu.my/
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close majority of states in Africa have come under multiparty democracy. While this represents a tremendous achievement, yet the march towards deepening the democratization process on the continent is experiencing reversals. Particularly troubling is the emergent of one party dominant rule and streaks of democratic authoritarianism being exhibits in some of Africa‟s new democracies a crisis that is better illustrated by the Nigeria experience since 1999. While Nigeria‟s transition elections of 1999 was significant in that it brought to an end 15 years of military dictatorship yet the pattern of dominance by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP that emanates from the general elections give an ominous signs. Under the banner of the PDP, President Obasanjo all through his eight years tenure vigorously pursues a dubious one party dominant rule. The ruling party under former President Obasanjo maximally deployed the instrument of patronage, selective use of anti-corruption probes and most importantly the undermining of democratic competition through the classic rigging of the 2003 and 2007 general elections. Nowhere is the stimulating landslide victory of the ruling PDP more glaring than in the Niger Delta, Nigeria's oil bearing region where the PDP has maintain a stifling grip on the political space since 1999. Thus this study seeks to analysis the trend of democratic competition and the management of the democratization process. In particular it x-rays oppositional politics and the perversion of the electoral process by the ruling party. It also discusses how the militarization of electoral competition and perversion of electoral process has contributes to the escalation of violence in Nigeria's oil producing Niger Delta.