Youth Perception on the Importance of Voting During Elections in Nigeria

Abstract

Voting apathy among Nigerian youth had been a significant issue in Nigeria's fledgling democracy. Does that mean that elections do not seem to be important among the youth? Thus, this study evaluates youth perception of voting's importance during elections during the 2018 Ekiti gubernatorial elections.  The study sampled the opinion of 1369 youth from 18 to 35 years across the three senatorial districts of the state. Findings show that an overwhelming majority (78.1%) of the respondents see the 2018 Ekiti governorship election as important. This shows that the youth are very interested in the coming Election as 69.7% agreed they would vote during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.  The youths (83.3%) know that their vote matters, even as they agreed (74.8%) voting in Election is vital to Democracy. Therefore, the level of voting signals youth's role in the democratic process can never be overemphasized. Therefore, it is recommended that youths not stop at voting but also contest for elective positions and be active in the democratic process during and after elections.

Keywords: Youth; Election; Voting, Democracy, and Nigeria

DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/95-08

Publication date: March 31^st 2021