Despite governments' attempts to present a democratic front, the evident corruption and fraud involved in presidential elections in recent years in Russia, Iran and Nigeria highlight the reality of the situations. Examining the electoral processes of these three countries, it is clearly seen that the electoral body is not independent from the party in power. Poor electoral processes have turned into a legitimacy crisis in Nigeria and full-blown uprisings in Russia and Iran; although the authorities have succeeded in repressing these public demonstrations, the legitimacy of the governments continues to be questioned. The strong public outcry against the results demonstrates that the elections do not accurately reflect voters' intentions, that widespread fraud occurred in which the vote count for the winning candidate was significantly inflated. Furthermore, the cycle of fraudulent elections in these nations has created a lack of social capital and has significantly hindered the pace of democratization within each state. Nigeria has a long history of corruption and violence that mar the process of electing the country's leaders. Assassinations, voter intimidation, and election tampering have all been common factors in past elections; Instead of focusing on the pressing issues facing Nigerians, the elections focused on gaining power. The 2007 elections “marked the first time in [Nigeria's]… post-independence history… that one civilian government handed over power to another,” and what should have been a milestone for democracy was instead “full of corruption and offences". What could have been a break in the long chain of violence and corruption involved in the electoral process, c...... half of the document ...... (2012): 1-11.Alexanian, Janet A. “ Reports of eyewitnesses and political claims: transnational responses to the 2009 post-election protests in Iran. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 31, no. 2 (2011): 425-427. Down, Reza. “A historic moment in Iran”. Human Rights Quarterly 31 (2009): 843-854. Giddy, Clifford and Andrew Kuchins. “Putin's plan”. The Washington Quarterly 31, no. 2 (2008): 117-127. Lewis, Peter M. “Voting in Nigeria: More Openness, More Conflict.” Journal of democracy 22, n. 4 (2011): 60-74.Nichol, Jim. “March 2012 Russian Presidential Election: Results and Implications.” Congressional Research Service (2012): 1-11.Powell, Bingham G. et al., Comparative Politics Today: A World View, New York: Longman, 2009.Subaru, Rotimi T. “Nigeria's Confused Elections.” Journal of democracy 18, n. 4 (2007): 95-104.