Although existing studies have extensively examined electoral malpractice, political violence, vote buying, judicial intervention and party politics in Nigeria, much of the literature treats these issues as separate phenomena. Consequently, limited scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding how the interaction between electoral politics and electoral litigation collectively shapes democratic governance and electoral outcomes in Nigeria. Furthermore, while previous studies have analysed individual electoral disputes and landmark judicial decisions, there remains a paucity of comprehensive studies that systematically connect electoral litigation, party institutional weaknesses and democratic legitimacy within the broader context of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. This study addresses these gaps by providing an integrated analysis of the trends and travails of electoral politics, electoral litigation and the judicial dimensions of electoral victories in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. By examining electoral trends, democratic struggles and landmark electoral cases since 1999, the study contributes to existing scholarship by demonstrating how intra party conflicts, weak party ideology, money politics and electoral malpractice place enormous burdens on the judiciary and collectively affect democratic consolidation in Nigeria.
THE TRENDS AND TRAVAILS OF ELECTORAL POLITICS AND ELECTORAL LITIGATION IN NIGERIA, 2026, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 75-81. PDF