Participation and voting policy process in Nigeria: A qualitative study

Abstract

Participatory policy process in Nigeria is prominently known to be elites dominating the entire process, and control every bit of its stages. In such cases, citizens participate to fulfill the requirements. Various contending views provide account of different facets of policy process with little attempts to assess actual experience. The scenario of e-voting policy process in Nigeria provides citizens with limited choice to influence the policy. Given the fact that policies produced from true sense of participatory process stand the chance for adoption, bring to the fore, the need to envisage extent of citizens’ participation in evoting decision. In view of the foregoing and the need to evaluate real life experiences concerning e-voting policy antecedent, this study adopt face-to-face qualitative interview to explore the extent of citizens’ participation in the e-voting policy process as a potential challenge affecting adoption. Real experience accounts of the participants revealed bureaucratic oriented Nigerian policy process mainly dominated by elites. The accounts demonstrated the extent to which citizens are deprived and isolated from e-voting policy. Hence, the call to policy makers in Nigeria to be sensitive to the opinions of the citizens toward shaping policy direction as a requisite for e-voting adoption and socioeconomic development.