ABSTRACT:

The electoral process is an ideal and integral part of the democratic process, whether in developed or developing societies. A mal-functioning of electoral system inadvertently produces mal-administration. The mal-function of electoral system is caused by the incident of leadership failure and political conflict. In most developing countries, crisis of governance is usually the major problem because of the kind of people chosen into elective positions. This paper however examines good governance and credible elections in Nigeria using relative deprivative rising expectation and frustration aggression models as its theoretical framework of analysis. The paper also examines credible elections as a determinant factor for good governance and conflict a free society. Critical analyses of African countries have clearly shown elections as selective and carry go process which in turn produces bad governance and political conflict across all levels of government. The paper also recommended some remedies for credible elections, good governance and conflict free society such as review of the structure, compositions, operations and funding of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) so that it can be autonomous. INEC should develop a code of conduct for political parties; institutionalize continuous voter’s registration and make review at the local government level. It should also develop and popularize a code of conduct for the security agencies’ as security sector transformation is a vital component of democratic reform and is crucial to guaranteeing respect for civil rights. New standards of behaviour should be set for all members of the security services, including an end to impunity and institutional cover-up. This could necessitate that the National Assembly make changes to existing statues. The government should provide security officials with continuous training in democratic values, while civil societies should develop the capacity to monitor effectively the security agencies and their operations .For any credible elections and good governance; the above mentioned remedies must be implemented.