Political Party Cross Carpeting and Democratic Sustainability: A Focus On 2027 Nigerian General Elections

Abstract

Political party cross carpeting, the practice by which elected officials and political actors abandon their parties to join rival parties, has become a defining and destabilizing feature of Nigerian democratic politics. As the country approaches the 2027 general elections, this phenomenon continues to intensify, raising fundamental questions about the sustainability of Nigeria's democratic experiment. This study examines the nature, drivers, and democratic consequences of cross carpeting in Nigeria, with particular focus on its implications for the 2027 general elections. Using a mixed methods approach that combines documentary analysis, elite interviews, and survey data, the study finds that cross carpeting in Nigeria is primarily driven by material self-interest, incumbency advantage-seeking, political survival instincts, and the failure of political parties to develop ideologically coherent identities. The study demonstrates that persistent cross carpeting weakens party institutionalization, undermines voter representation, distorts electoral competition, erodes public trust in democratic institutions, and threatens constitutional governance. Based on theoretical insights from social contract theory, institutional theory, and political party systems theory, the study proposes comprehensive legal, institutional, and civic reform measures necessary to curtail cross carpeting and strengthen democratic sustainability ahead of the 2027 elections. The findings have important implications for electoral reform, political party legislation, and democratic consolidation in Nigeria and other emerging democracies in sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords

References