INEC Officials’ Compliance with Their Rules of Engagement in the Conduct of Elections in South-East Nigeria: Implications for Community Development

INEC is Nigeria’s constitutionally established electoral management body responsible for organizing, conducting, and supervising specified elections in the country. The study investigated INEC officials’ compliance with their rules of engagement which have to do with accountability, transparency and electoral integrity in the conduct of elections in South-East Nigeria and its implications for community development. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 26,326 electoral stakeholders, consisting of 1,200 community leaders, 21,631 party agents and 3,495 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A sample of 2,633 respondents was selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected using a researcher-developed instrument titled INEC Officials’ Compliance with their Rules of Engagement in the Conduct of Elections and its Implications for Community Development in South-East Nigeria Questionnaire (IOCECEISEQ). The instrument was validated by three experts and yielded an overall Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of .81. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. The finding among others revealed that INEC officials complied with the principles of transparency and accountability and adhered to the rule of law to a high extent. The results further showed that there were no significant differences among the mean ratings of community leaders, party agents and NGO representatives regarding transparency, accountability and adherence to the rule of law. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that INEC strengthened transparency in electoral procedures, reinforced mechanisms for holding officials accountable and ensured consistent and non-discriminatory application of electoral laws and guidelines.