The Impact of New Media Technology on Electoral Victory: Focus on 2015 General Election in Nigeria

Election is a process of selecting people to hold political offices and authority on behalf of the electorate. It is a very important aspect of every democratic process. The 2015 general election in Nigeria was very unique. It proved wrong all predictions of recording high rate of violence and lack of free and fairness. The electoral outcome defiled all these predictions and created a new landmark that has never been recorded in the history of elections in Nigeria. For the first time, there was high rate of youth involvement and political participation and the incumbent president was defeated despite huge propaganda and scandals that trailed the opposition. An uptight and laid back analogue opposition presidential candidate defeated a more vibrant and very amiable incumbent in an election adjudged to be free and fair. This paper seeks to investigate what actually happened and what informed the drastic change of attitude of young people in the electoral process. Descriptive and documentary methods were used in data collection and analysis. The findings show that new media technology is a very potent tool of mass communication and mass mobilization which cannot be overlooked in ensuring that citizens participate effectively and efficiently in the democratic process. The paper recommends the effective use of new media technology by politicians and political parties as a tool to enhance political mobilization for electoral victories.