The Effect of Naira Redesign on Vote Trading in the 2023 Presidential Election: A Case Study of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja

Abstract

This dissertation was on “The Effect of Naira Redesign on Vote Trading in the 2023 Presidential Election”. Money as a means of exchange plays a crucial role in every election as it is needed in every stage of electioneering. In Nigeria today, people see the vote as a product of buying and selling and politicians who want to win the election, hoard money to buy votes during the election which is the only period voters who wish to sell their votes could do so. To combat this and hoarding of naira notes, CBN with the approval of former President Muhammadu Buhari redesigned naira notes a few weeks before the 2023 Presidential election, posing potential challenges in the election. The study examined the level of vote trading in Nigeria's electoral system and its implications for the democratic process; assessed the effect of the Naira redesign and its effectiveness on vote trading during the 2023 Presidential Election in FCT; and analyzed the strategies employed by the political actors in the context of currency redesign and their implications for vote trading to find out how the naira redesign affected this vote trading during the 2023 Presidential election in FCT, Abuja. The study adopted a survey research design, so the objectives of this study were achieved by utilizing data collected through questionnaire, key informant interview (KII) and official sources for the year, 2023. Finding from objective one of this study showed that vote trading had been in existence in Nigeria elections influencing the integrity and fairness of the electoral process before now but that the prevalence of this vote trading during 2023 presidential election within the study area was significantly minimized; in assessing the effects of the naira redesign and its effectiveness on vote trading during the 2023 Presidential election, it was discovered that the naira redesign as a positive intervention reduced the level of vote trading during the 2023 Presidential elections in Nigeria as the currency in circulation fell to N982, 097 billion in February 2023, and both the political actors and other Nigerians were restricted from having access to large fund due to its scarcity and finding from objective three of the study also revealed that political actors utilized digital payment platforms for campaign financing and voters mobilization and that this shift towards digital payments minimized the potential for vote buying and selling. The study recommended that the Government through the media may wish to intensify voter education and enlightenment campaigns on the negative implications of vote trading and how it undermines good governance; redesign the currency every 5 – 8 years according to the best practices across the globe, deal with all political parties or contenders on their access to new currency notes the same way; and follow 2022 Electoral Act, especially in any area where any form of vote trading has been criminalized, to ensure that whoever caught in the act be prosecuted. However, the policy helped in curtailing vote trading during the 2023 Presidential election.