ELECTORAL CORRUPTION AND GLOBAL IMAGE AN ASSESSMENT OF NIGERIA’S 2023 GENERAL ELECTION

Abstract

Nigeria, a nation that has sought to solidify its strategic interests as a regional power in Africa and globally since gaining independence, has been severely disrupted and weakened by a series of image crises. Factors such as ineffective leadership, rampant political corruption, and flawed electoral processes have instigated these crises, negatively impacting Nigeria's international standing. The paper focused on analysing Nigeria's 2023 general election, specifically examining electoral corruption and its impact on Nigeria's global image. The paper employs the linkage theory, which asserts that Nigeria's efforts to establish a favourable image will fail as long as electoral fraud persists in its domestic sphere. The work analyses secondary data obtained from various sources, such as journals, magazines, newspapers, among others. The analyses conducted were qualitative in nature. The paper revealed that Nigeria's substantial electoral corruption poses a hugely deceptive sense of security, and global investors may want to transfer their assets to more tranquil nations in order to safeguard their interests. Thus, if Nigeria continues to face electoral disorder, as evidenced by the egregious fraud in the 2023 general election, it will find itself in a disadvantageous position within the evolving global and continental order as a state actor in the international system. The paper suggests that in order to uphold the democratic system, elections must consistently adhere to the principles of freedom and fairness. A nation's democratic system may face challenges if not properly managed, leading other nations to doubt its capacity to actively participate in the global distribution of labour.