Vote-selling behaviour and democratic dissatisfaction in Nigeria

Most Nigerians think it is unacceptable for a citizen to exchange their vote for money or a gift. The second household survey by the Chatham House Africa Programme’s Social Norms and Accountable Governance (SNAG) project, conducted in 2018, found that more than 78 per cent of respondents held this view. Across Nigeria, vote-selling is often an independent, individual decision. As a behaviour, it is primarily driven by material context and immediate circumstances such as economic hardship or a fear of intimidation or violence. Such practical motivations rarely draw social sanctions. On the whole, survey respondents believed vote-selling to be highly prevalent in their own community. Vote-selling in Nigeria is a collective action problem because most people disapprove of the practice, even though it is known to be widespread. While individuals personally benefit, the aggregate negative costs of their actions do not often come under scrutiny. Sustained information campaigns, community action and locally enforceable public commitments to collectively shun vote-buying strategies are more likely to be successful than moralistic pleas. Such an approach will help change vote-selling from an independent to an interdependent choice and create new voting norms. Political actors who buy votes should face stringent consequences. Political financing reform, and ensuring election security and ballot secrecy, will be equally vital in addressing vote-selling.