After 4 days of vote tallying, the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) of Nigeria formally declared Bola Tinubu the winner of the nation’s extremely contested presidential election. The declaration is just not with out controversy, nonetheless, as a number of opposition events have disputed the legitimacy of the election and promised to problem the ends in courtroom. For his half, president-elect Tinubu has appealed for reconciliation along with his rivals and urged all Nigerians to unite behind his administration when he takes workplace in Might.

GeoPoll carried out a survey previous to the election to gauge public sentiment in regards to the state of the nation, folks’s belief within the electoral course of, and their intention to vote. Now that the presidential election is over, GeoPoll applied a follow-up research to study folks’s voting experiences on election day, in addition to their confidence within the election course of and outcomes.

Findings from the post-election survey are detailed on this put up. To view the complete outcomes, filterable by query, state, gender, and age group, scroll all the way down to the Interactive Knowledge Dashboard.

Voting Expertise

Voter turnout in Nigeria has been on a gentle decline since peaking at 69% in 2003. Though 74% of respondents in our research declare to have voted within the 2023 election, solely 29% of registered voters in Nigeria truly voted on election day – the lowest participation fee since Nigeria’s independence.

Of the 26% that didn’t vote, 41% say it was because of “registration/PVC issues.” One other 18% say they’d issues on the polling station.

For people who did vote, most had a “good” or “excellent” voting expertise (61%). Solely 19% had a “poor” or “very poor” expertise.

61% of voters report a “good” or “excellent” voting expertise.

Each the expectation and preliminary experiences of late begins at polling stations could have dissuaded some voters. Delays had been blamed on a wide range of points, together with technical difficulties, late-arriving officers, money shortages that affected transport, and assaults on polling stations. Many of the voters in our research report experiencing a minimum of minor delays (61%), with 21% saying their polling station opened greater than 2 hours not on time.

Whether or not their polling station opened on time or not, most respondents waited in line for a minimum of 1 hour to vote (60%). Nearly 1 in 3 (32%) waited for 3 hours or extra.

60% waited in line for a minimum of 1 hour to vote.

Regardless of fears of violence main as much as the elections, voting was largely peaceable exterior of some remoted incidents. These incidents seemingly contribute to the 4% of respondents that say they felt “very unsafe” at their polling station. Most, nonetheless, report feeling “considerably secure” or “very secure” (81%). Girls report feeling barely much less secure than males.

In our research carried out every week earlier than the election, most respondents felt “annoyed” with the present state of affairs in Nigeria. Frustration continues to be the most typical sentiment now that the election is over, however the share dropped from 58% to 45%. The proportion feeling “scared” additionally decreased, whereas these experiencing optimistic emotions (hopeful, blessed and glad) elevated.

Belief within the Electoral Course of Pre- and Publish-Elections

The electoral course of for the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election has been suffering from controversy since earlier than the primary votes had been forged. Whereas acknowledging technical glitches with its vote tallying platform, the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) stands by its declaration of Bola Tinubu because the president-elect, and has requested opposition events to take their grievances to courtroom.

Because the events put together their authorized challenges and the president-elect prepares his administration, we introduced voters a sequence of statements associated to their religion within the electoral course of, and requested whether or not they agree or disagree with every assertion.

Election Outcomes Acceptance, Fraud, and Violence

Respondents’ expectations for a fraud- and violence-free election that might be accepted by all Nigerians far exceeded their precise expertise. The chart beneath reveals the chances of respondents that “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed” with every of the three statements, each earlier than and after the election.

Opposition party-led protests have dampened respondents’ hope that the outcomes of the 2023 basic elections might be accepted by all Nigerians. The proportion that “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with that assertion climbed from 24% within the pre-election survey to 64% within the post-election survey.

Disputes over the electoral fee’s dealing with of the vote additionally elevated perceptions of fraud. Those who disagree or strongly disagree that the elections might be/had been freed from fraud greater than doubled pre-/post-election, rising from 29% to 67%.

Though election day has been deemed largely peaceable, voters anticipated higher. Whereas solely 33% disagreed or strongly disagreed that the elections can be freed from violence and intimidation earlier than the election, 63% disagree or strongly disagree with that assertion now that the election is over.

Perceptions of INEC’s Efficiency

On election day, delays at polling stations, technical difficulties, and allegations of irregularities raised issues about INEC’s planning and efficiency. After the election, glitches in INEC’s outcomes viewing platform and delays in saying the outcomes seem to have amplified these issues.

In our research, voters’ specific important dissatisfaction with INEC’s efficiency.

Solely 31% of respondents agree or strongly agree that all events and candidates had been handled equally and pretty through the election course of. Most seem to assist opposition get together claims of an total lack of equity.

Solely 31% agree that each one events and candidates had been handled equally and pretty.

Within the pre-election survey, nearly 2 in 3 respondents (65%) agreed or strongly agreed that INEC is clear and informs the general public and media about its actions. That share dropped to 34% after the election. A number of impartial observers, together with the European Union, have criticized the election for missing transparency.

The most important phase of respondents (39%) strongly disagree that INEC carried out its duties with honesty and integrity through the 2023 elections. Solely 9% strongly agree.

The delay in saying a winner seems to have sapped public confidence in a free and truthful election. Most agree or strongly agree (70%) that the delay in saying a winner negatively impacts my perceptions of election integrity.

Most additionally say they’ve little or no to no confidence (63%) in INEC’s vote tally and declaration of a winner.

63% have little or no or no confidence in INEC’s vote tally and declaration of a winner.

Witnessing Election Day Interference

Earlier than INEC previously declared Bola Tinubu the winner of the 2023 presidential election, opposition events referred to as for a rerun, alleging widespread vote rigging and violence. In our research, we requested voters about any private expertise with these claims.

Total, greater than 1 in 3 respondents declare they or a pal personally witnessed incidences of vote-buying (37%), voter suppression (40%), poll tampering (36%), and violence close to polling stations (39%). Comparable percentages say they had been solely advised about these incidences taking place by the media. Smaller percentages say they didn’t see or hear about these incidences taking place in any respect.

Perceptions of Democracy

With disruption, delays, and irregularities weakening public notion of transparency and integrity within the electoral course of, it follows that almost all respondents say they’re “very dissatisfied” with the way in which democracy works in Nigeria (52%).

52% are very dissatisfied with the way in which democracy works in Nigeria.

Growing transparency all through the electoral course of might be crucial for enhancing public belief within the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy shifting ahead.

Interactive Knowledge Dashboard

Dive deeper into GeoPoll’s knowledge on the Nigeria elections utilizing the interactive dashboard beneath. The dashboard gives responses to every query within the survey, filterable by state, age group, and gender.

Conduct Democracy and Governance Analysis with GeoPoll

GeoPoll’s cell analysis and engagement platform permit governments and democracy teams to achieve residents in distant areas or battle zones shortly and safely, with out the necessity for on-the-ground enumerators. Utilizing GeoPoll, organizations can administer surveys and academic messages to extraordinarily particular goal populations, giving them the power to shortly assess conditions and act upon probably the most up-to-date data.

GeoPoll carried out this survey utilizing our proprietary SMS and cell internet analysis platforms. Knowledge assortment occurred from March 11-13, 2023. The multi-modal research used a easy random sampling approach from GeoPoll’s and third-party databases to attain a various mixture of 542 voting-age adults from throughout Nigeria.

For extra data on the pattern and methodology for this research or to conduct a analysis research of your individual, contact us at the moment.

High picture by Samuel Alabi on Unsplash