Under Nigeria's electoral laws, vote buying attracts 'a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 12 months or both'.
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A SaharaReporters poll seeking to find out how Nigerians intend to treat politicians who offer them cash in exchange for votes during the 2019 general election has finally come to an end.
The poll, which was conducted on the SaharaReporters Twitter page, ran for a full week and came to an end on Thursday January 17.
It was divided into three segments through a thread with the following questions:
1. Will you collect money and vote for the candidate who pays the highest?
2. Will you collect money but vote only according to your conscience?
3. Will you reject money no matter how much?
A total of 14,026 votes were recorded in the online poll.
While 83% (4,250.43 votes) out of 5,121 said ‘no’ when asked if they would collect money and vote for the candidate who pays the highest, 17% (870.57) of 5,121 said ‘yes’.
When asked if they would collect money but vote only according to their conscience, 75% (3,819) of 5,092 voters said ‘yes’, while 25% (1273) said ‘no’.
On whether or not they’ll reject money no matter how much, 42% (1,601.46) of 3,813 voters in this segment said ’yes’, while 58% (2,211.54) of the voters said ‘no’.
The 2019 presidential election holds on February 16, 2019, while those for governorship as well as state and federal legislature hold two weeks later.
Under Nigeria’s electoral laws, vote buying attracts “a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 12 months or both”.