Abstract:
The study sets out to evaluate an aspect of electoral process the voters’ registration exercise with a view to evaluating electoral commission (INEC) on voters’ registration in Nigeria. The aim of the research was to provide a framework for explaining, the causes of public negative perception and how the agenda of the electoral admonition of electoral process. The agenda-setting theory first developed by Prof. Marxcombs and Prof. Dolan Shaw in their chapel Holl study (1968) which explains the relationship between reality and the media’s selection of reality and the influence of these on public perception. It presumes that mass media’s selection for public opinion by highlighting certain issues. This served as our analytical framework that provides a conceptual foundation for Nigeria’s presently incredible and unsatisfactory electoral, process and conduct of elections. Both secondary and primary sources entailed using a total of 400 questionnaires administered to a randomly selected sample, as well as oral interview and personal observations at the registration units. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical such as chi-square test was used to elicited information from the questionnaires. In addition, frequency tables, and charts was used which enabled the research to organize the quantitative information gathered in concise and ordered from to clarify the nature of voters’ registration and public perception of the electoral process in Nigeria. Three hypotheses were tested. There is no significant relationship between the composition of INEC and conduct of free and fair electoral process. Public perception does not have any effect on the effectiveness of voters, registration. The credibility of INEC does not inspires public confidence on the electoral process from the findings of the study, the integrity of elections is fundamentally germane to the sustenance of a truly representative from of government and public perception suggest that elections conducted in Nigeria have been persistently been incredible and unsatisfactory which confirmed the hypothesis. Underlying the study. The findings underscore some critical problem areas on which concerted state action is required against the backdrop of the prevailing incredible and unsatisfactory electoral process and conduct of elections in Nigeria.. The study concludes that the perceived independence of the electoral management body from political interference lends credibility to the electoral management (INEC) have to endanger trust and confidence in the system through transparency of the process in order to conduct free and acceptable elation in future.
