Political Violence and Internal Party Democracy in Kwara State

Abstract

Political parties are among the critical institutions crucial to achieving a democratic process in any society. It is because they provide a significant platform for leadership recruitment in a democracy. This function is best performed when intraparty politics and processes are essentially tranquil and popularity-based. However, internal party democracy could be constrained by violent conflicts among party members, particularly during the process of selecting candidates to represent political parties in elections. It is, therefore, imperative to note that intraparty violence, if not properly managed, may degenerate into a full-blown election/political violence before, during, and after general elections. While many scholarly investigations have harped on the effect of political violence on electoral politics and democracy, particularly in Nigeria, little has been done to examine its implications for internal party democracy. This study, therefore, explores the impact of intraparty violence on the internal democracy of political parties in Kwara State, Nigeria.