Political Radio Programmes and Attitude of South-East Electorate towards Vote-Buying During the 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria

Background: Vote buying, a form of electoral malpractice, has been a major threat to the integrity of the electoral process in Nigeria including the South-Eastern zone. It undermines the democratic process by manipulating election outcomes. Mass media play vital role in promoting democratic values and holding elected officials accountable. Nigeria had another general elections in 2023 that presented a good opportunity for the country to consolidate its democratic gains through a free, fair, and transparent electoral process. Objective: To investigate impact of radio messages on attitude of South-East electorate towards vote-buying during the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. Method: The study adopted descriptive survey research design and collected data using structured questionnaire. Result: The result shows that there was significant knowledge of the dangers of voting buying among electorate in the South Nigeria during the 2023 presidential election Conclusion: Radio messages helped in reducing the practice of vote buying during the 2023 presidential election in South-East Nigeria. Unique contribution: The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the role of mass media in promoting democratic governance and combating electoral malpractices in Nigeria. The thus provides valuable insights for media practitioners, electoral officials, and policymakers on how to leverage mass media to ensure a free, fair, and transparent electoral process in Southeast Nigeria. Key recommendation: There is need for iincreased radio campaigns, more targeted messaging, collaboration with Local Stakeholders, voter education programmes, policy reforms, monitoring and evaluation, inter-agency cooperation, as well as community engagement to curtail vote buying incidents.