Author(s) :

Maryam Muhammad Suleiman, A.A. Abdussalam, Ph.D.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

This study examined the influence of identity politics on voting patterns during the 2023 general elections in Chikun Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Motivated by limited empirical attention to identity-driven electoral behaviour at the grassroots level, the study assessed how identity politics influenced voting patterns, examined the role of political parties in identity-based mobilisation, analysed implications for democratic consolidation, and identified measures for promoting issue-based voting. Anchored in Social Identity Theory, the study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. A structured Likert-scale questionnaire was administered to 382 respondents through simple random sampling across the twelve wards of Chikun LGA, while ten key informants were purposively selected for semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that religion, rather than ethnicity, was the more dominant and consciously expressed determinant of voting behaviour, with 65% of respondents agreeing that religion shaped their electoral choices. Ethnicity operated more structurally, filtering candidates out at party nomination rather than as a conscious consideration at the point of voting. Identity politics also had a measurable corrosive effect on democratic consolidation, with 83% agreeing that identity-based voting weakens democratic development generally. The study concludes that identity politics in Chikun LGA operates through a two-tier mechanism, with ethnicity as a structural filter at candidate-selection and religion as a conscious consideration at the point of voting. It recommends stricter regulation of identity-based campaigning, transparent candidate screening, programmatic party competition, inter-group dialogue, and accessible mechanisms for post-election accountability. Keywords: Identity Politics, Voting Pattern, Ethnicity, Religion, Democratic Consolidation

No. of Downloads :

0