International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: With the rise of digital media, voter education has gained prominence and become more consolidated in many democracies. Prior to Nigeria's general elections of 2019 and 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) used social media platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to educate voters, but despite the increased use of these platforms, there have not yet been sufficient empirical studies analysing how thriving, what possibilities exist, and what bounds are faced by INEC's digital voter education programme during these election years, as well as how INEC's digital voter education content evolved between the two elections.
Objective: This study focused on voter education strategies, opportunities, and challenges on Facebook and X by INEC in the 2019 and 2023 general elections.
Method: This study employed a qualitative approach with data collection of four in-depth interviews with staff from the Voter Education and Publicity Department and the INEC Citizens Contact Centre (ICCC). A total of 146 posts from INEC’s verified Facebook and X accounts were collected and analyzed thematically. Diffusion of Innovations and Technological Determinism theories were used for framework, while descriptive and thematic methods were utilized for analysis. Results: Findings show that INEC has improved its digital strategies for educating voters from 2019 to 2023. The 2023 strategies were much more structured than the 2019 strategies which were experimental, and less interactive. Collaborating with civil society organisations, influencers and communication strategists, INEC addressed online misinformation using approaches such as live question and answer sessions, infographics and dynamic content. Nonetheless, INEC's advertising budget, platform-specific restrictions, algorithmic delays and technical limitations made it difficult for the Commission to achieve all of its goals.
Conclusion: The study concludes that the Commission's entry into Facebook and X is a significant improvement in Digital Voter Education in Nigeria; however, INEC's improved strategic use of social media in 2023 still had structural and technical challenges that limited the overall achievement of its goals.
Unique Contribution: This paper has provided new linear perspective to the Nigerian electoral body’s use of social media for voter education, ranging from social innovation, institutional learning partnership/collaboration, and their impacts on digital voter outreach process.
Key Recommendation: This paper calls for the adoption of constituency-based comprehensive, data-driven, digitally integrated voter education campaigns that are likely to result in increased budgetary provisions and operational functional integration for online voter education initiatives as well as partnerships and collaboration between civil society organisations, Facebook, X, and local organisations for greater technical preparedness for future digital education campaigns.