Abstract
The conclusion of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria indicated quite clearly that there is yet no end in sight to rancour, conflict and underhand dealings in the country’s electoral contests. This observation is underpinned by the fact that the technological, ethical and policy innovations of the electoral body were easily and crassly if contemptuously and cynically out manoeuvred by outlandish and sophisticated electoral malpractices by the major political parties. The advent of this electoral malfeasance against the backdrop of a relatively successful 2015 general elections has cast an unsightly pall on Nigeria’s hitherto satisfactory democratization journey. However, this dark pall is characterized by streaks of light provided through the agency of the social media. Indeed, the instrumentality of the social media through its operationalization as a tool of civil society activism has enabled, for the first time, a glimpse, if isolated and few, into polling activities on polling day. The paper interrogates the concept of social media and the possibilities therein for the monitoring of the electoral space in Nigeria.
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Obah-Akpowoghaha, N.G., Amanchukwu, I. (2022). Social Media: A Big Brother in Nigeria’s Electoral Space?. In: Ani, K.J., Ojakorotu, V. (eds) Elections and Electoral Violence in Nigeria. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4652-2_10
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