Geographical pattern and structure of the 2011 and 2015 Nigeria presidential election

Election results in Nigeria were examined for pattern, structure, and association with socioeconomic variables. There was a clear indication that the dominant political parties have appeal along regional lines, this changed slightly for APC in 2015 but remained the same for PDP. Polarization was found at the national level. Correlation analysis shows there is significant association between voting rate for parties and the average household size, prevalence of malnutrition among 5 year olds, tribalism index and indices of ease of doing business. The study highlights the spatial structure of the votes casted by the electorate and how action of individuals create a pattern which has serious implications for the direction taken by politicians. As such there is need for electoral agencies to intensify effort on voters’ education, discourage use of ethnic and religious sentiments during electoral campaigns and ensure increased voters participation.