ELECTORAL VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN NIGERIA: CASE STUDY OF THE 2022 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION IN OSUN STATE

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of electoral violence on voters’ participation, election credibility, and post-election legitimacy, using the 2022 Osun State gubernatorial election as a case study. It also evaluates the impact of electoral reforms, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV), on the role of Electoral Management Bodies in preventing electoral violence and promoting democratic consolidation in Osun State. The study is theoretically grounded in Elite Theory and Relative Deprivation Theory, which explain how political elites manipulate electoral processes through vote buying, intimidation, and institutional control, and how socio-economic frustrations arising from poverty and unemployment make youths vulnerable to recruitment into electoral violence. These frameworks provide a basis for understanding electoral violence as both an elite-driven and socio-economically induced phenomenon that undermines democratic stability. Adopting a quantitative research design, data were collected through an online structured questionnaire administered to 84 respondents across selected locations in Osun State. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were employed to test the formulated hypotheses and examine relationships among electoral violence, voter participation, electoral reforms, and democratic consolidation. Findings reveal that electoral violence adversely affects election credibility and post-election legitimacy, while reforms such as BVAS and IREV enhanced transparency but were constrained by institutional weaknesses and elite interference. The study further identifies civic education, strengthened security deployment, institutional capacity building, employment generation, and strict enforcement of electoral laws as critical strategies for reducing electoral violence. The study concludes that sustainable democratic consolidation in Osun State and Nigeria requires not only technological reforms but also inclusive socio-economic policies, strong institutions, and mechanisms capable of curbing elite dominance and addressing youth marginalization which in turn enhances democratic stability. Keywords: Electoral Violence, Democratic Consolidation, Independent National Electoral Commission, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, INEC Result Viewing Portal, Vote Buying, Political Thuggery