Violence between and within political parties in Nigeria: statistics, structures and patterns (2006-2014)
Abstract
Acts of violence between or within political
parties in Nigeria are usually associated with general
elections and their spectacular death toll. This research
uses statistical tools to analyse this violence during the
2006–2014 period. Patterns of political violence between
the 2007 and 2011 general elections differ strongly.
During the 2007 election, killings occurred mainly within
parties or were linked to the campaign. During the 2011
elections, however, most casualties were reported after
the announcement of the results. Nevertheless, it appears
that killings related to general elections accounted for less
than 50% of the total number of such fatalities as they
were reported between 2006 and 2014. A large share of
party violence is ignored, as it is mostly internal or with a
low lethality rate. Arguably, violence is a means used by
the political elite, rather than the people’s choice to
protest against fraud. Levels of violence vary between
parties and between states. As the ruling party, the PDP is
a central actor, involved in 97% of the casualties of party
clashes. Over the period under study, some events are
particularly distinctive because of their large number of
casualties and their links to ethnic, religious, or economic
tensions.
Domains
Political science
Origin : Publisher files allowed on an open archive