Vote buying of Electorates:A Case Study of Parliamentary By- Elections.

      Аннотация: Vote buying in elections has become a common trend in most developing countries. The research offers this perspective that those who aspire for political office should not use due influence to alter the results of poll. Many scholars have argued that politics of belly has been the driving force for electoral malpractices, fraud and vote buying in elections. It is not good to be poor as many of the poor are as vulnerable to this device as they are often influenced with cash, gifts and donations. It can be contested that results of any election cannot be said to be free and fair when they marred with corruption, bribery to intimidation and fraud. This is not acceptable in any democratic society for one to get into office dubiously. Fundamentally, the times are changing in most African countries no matter how much a candidate spends to be elected for political office the chances are high that one would not be elected. The people deserve better than vote buying and it is illegal to buy votes for one to be elected. In most advanced democracies in the world, there are lesser opportunity costs for one to buy the voters because elections are held in environment that assures credibility.

Ключевые слова: African Countries, bribery, candidate, cash, Corruption, Electoral Malpractices, Fraud, vote buying, fair and free elections, gifts and donations, credibility of elections, electoral process, democracy and politics