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Tag: credible elections

  • Catholic Bishops to Buhari: implement laws to ensure future credible elections

    Catholic Bishops have advised President Muhammadu Buhari to implement laws and policies that will ensure credible elections in the future.

    They demanded that government should acknowledge the inadequacies which characterised the 2019 elections and embark on a course for redress.

    A communique issued at the end of the First Plenary Meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in Abuja, and signed by the President, CBCN, Rev. Augustine Akubeze, and Secretary Rev. Camillus Umoh, reads: “We affirm that elections are an opportunity for people to freely choose those who will serve them. We denounce the unfortunate loss of lives and destruction of property, which is ongoing even now.

    “We, however, admonish that elections should not be turned into a battle between warriors fighting to capture power and conquer territory and people at all cost. We observe that many of the challenges which emerged during the electoral process were because of inadequate electoral laws, which made implementation problematic and at times offered lacunae for evil minded people to exploit the situation to their own advantage.

    “Even where the rules were clear, they were not always adhered to. One of the reported phenomena during the elections was the crude and reckless use of money to buy votes; showing how desperate politicians and political parties are determined to get political power at all cost.

    “Bad elections do not lead to good governance. We demand that the government acknowledge the inadequacies that characterised the 2019 elections and embark on a course for redress. We urge her to enact, endorse and implement laws and policies that will ensure free, fair and credible elections in the future.

    “We enjoin Nigerians, leaders and the led, to abide by democratic principles such as respect for human life, human rights and the rule of law. We also encourage the electorate to ensure that those who hold public offices in our country are held accountable. We equally urge Nigerians to eschew ndiscipline and corruption, and be resolute rather than lose hope in our struggle for a better future and country.

    “The 2019 general elections have come and gone, except in some areas where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled supplementary elections for specified reasons.

    “We commend our people for the patriotism and the maturity displayed. We praise electorate for coming out en masse during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, and the voter apathy which characterised the Governorship and Houses of Assembly elections.

    “We believe this apathy might not be unconnected to, among others, the violence, malpractice and the unnecessary militarisation of the process, all of which contributed to eroding the people’s confidence in the electoral process.

    “We have taken note of  winners, and hail the civility of those who rejected the results but have chosen to express their grievances legitimately rather than through violence. Whatever the outcome, justice must be seen to have been done. We admonish whoever holds power at the end of the day to remember that power belongs to God and to Him alone. God demands strict accountability for how anyone takes power and uses it, for God cannot be deceived or challenged (Lk 16:2).”

    On the recent killings in Kaduna and other states, the communiqué said: “We have received with deep sorrow, the tragic news of the resurgence of further horrific killings in some parts of Kaduna State, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Edo, Rivers, Zamfara, Adamawa and other states. Against the backdrop of the violence and bloodshed that characterised the last elections, we are pained that the culture of death is becoming embedded into our daily lives.

    “This persistent devaluation of human life and property poses an existential threat to our personal survival and that of our country. How can the government continue to appear helpless in the face of such shameful tragedy? We strongly appeal to the President, in collaboration with governors of the affected states, to take steps to arrest this drift before total anarchy and mayhem consume the country.”

  • CAIDOV calls for peaceful, credible elections

    A call has gone to the leadership and officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as its ad hoc staff “to ensure the 2019 gubernatorial and state assembly elections are well conducted according to electoral rules and regulations.”

    The security agencies were also called upon to discharge their duties without fear or favour in the interest of peaceful and credible elections.

    The Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence (CAIDOV), in a press release signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Gbenga Soloki, made the calls in Lagos yesterday after a meeting on today’s elections.

    The group warned politicians to eschew violence before, during and after the polls, stressing that they should imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship.

    The CAIDOV boss advised Nigerians to come out to exercise their civic duty by voting during the elections to choose those that will direct the affairs in our states, adding that credible people who can deliver on their promises should be elected as governors and lawmakers.

    The group further said: “It is imperative we urge our people to go out and cast their votes for the candidates of their choice without violence. What we as a centre is asking for is violence-free, peaceful and credible elections that will stand the test of time.  We want to warn our political actors not to see the contest as a do-or-die affair, but a sport where one person will emerge victorious.

    “We want to appeal to the INEC to carry its task out without any form of compromise. A credible election is a pointer to good governance and credible representation.

    Our police should discharge their duties without let or hinderance. They should ensure the protection of lives and property. They should perform their duties professionally”.

    The group called on all parties to accept the results of the elections or approach the courts when necessary and not resort to self-help.

  • CSO: political class not ready for credible elections

    THE nation’s political class seemed not ready for an enduring democracy for constantly undermining the electoral process, a civil rights organisation (CSO), Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), has said.

    The group also expressed regrets that deployment and conduct of military personnel to identified flash-points across the country for the 2019 presidential and National Assembly election was unsatisfactory.

    The CSO, at a news conference from its Situation Room in Abuja yesterday, said while observing the presidential and National Assembly elections from across the country, it  discovered that the electoral laws and rules as set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were sabotaged by the politicians.

    The CSO’s Executive Director, Faith Nwadishi, who presented the preliminary report on the elections,  noted that connivance between officials of the electoral commission and politicians was also designed to impact the elections negatively.

    She said: “The conduct of men of the Armed Forces deployed to flash-points to ensure the security of lives and properties leaves much to be desired.

    “In many instances, men of the Armed Forces left their primary responsibilities and became participants in the electoral process. Cases of such involvement in the electoral process were reported in places like Rivers, Bayelsa and Yobe states.

    “Also, there were cases of men of the Armed Forces preventing election observers performing their legitimate duties, even after proper identification.

    “In some cases, we had reports of voters being turned away from accessing their polling booths as was reported in the riverine areas of Delta State, where water ways were blocked.”

    Nwadishi said deliberate subversion of the electoral process by the political class showed that  it was not ready for credible process.

    “The violence we witnessed during the election was not sponsored by the parents of the perpetrators, but by politicians and this was only targeted at subverting the election,” she added.

    Hailing INEC for its determination to conduct credible polls, the group praised Nigerians for their enthusiasm and determination to choose leaders of their choice in spite of the many challenges thrown their ways.

     

  • Youths seek credible elections

    The youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State will organise a programme, themed “Election tips: Mobilising and Educating Youths to Achieve Peaceful Election”, to educate and empower youths to express their rights.

    The event holds on Thursday at the APC Secretariat on Acme road, Ogba, Lagos, at 10am. prompt.

    The programme would feature party stalwarts, party faithful, youth ambassadors, actors, actresses, artistes, comedians, youth influencers and other important personalities -who would impart positively on the youths.

    Read also: ABCON seeks higher transaction margin for BDCs

    Youth Organising Secretary Idris Aregbe said: “We are very close to elections so we are trying to reach Lagos residents, telling them that they need to be part of the electioneering. We would be educating them on election principles, the need to shun violence and on the need for APC to win the elections.

    “It is an election year and we know that we need to do a lot to mobilise our people and educate them for a peaceful election; that is what my office has been doing to ensure that the youths are carried along and to bring them together for progress.”

     

  • Nigerians shall have free, fair, credible elections – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has allayed the fears of Nigerians and assured of its readiness to conduct free, fair and transparent elections, beginning with the Presidential election on Feb 16, 2019.

    Speaking with media executives on the preparations ahead of the coming Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, in Lagos, yesterday, the National Electoral Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, said a total of 84,004,084 million Nigerians have been registered to participate in this year’s election which will feature 91 registered political parties.

    According to him, the elections would take place in 1,558 constituencies and 774 local government areas, and results collation in 8,809 registration areas/wards, in 119,973 polling units and 57, 023 voting points nationwide.

    Okoye said a total of 73 candidates had been cleared to contest the presidential election, while the governorship election will be contested by a total of 1,068 candidates in 29 states of the federation. The 109 senate seats will be contested by 1,904 candidates, while 4, 680 candidates will jostle for the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

    The 991 state constituency elections will have 14,583 contestants, while 806 candidates would be jostling for the 68 area council seats in the Federal Capital Territory.

    Okoye said INEC will be recruiting 17,618 senior academic staff of the various federal universities in Nigeria, to serve as collation and returning officers, as the commission, he said, have decided to have two collation officers or each of the 8,809 centres to facilitate timely collation of results.

    These returning officers, according to Okoye, would be assisted by 814,453 ad-hoc staff, made up of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and in some cases final year students in federal universities, who are currently being trained across all the states of the federation.

    For logistics, the commission, Okoye disclosed has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Transport Workers Union, whose members are going to be deployed nationwide to deploy and retrieve election personnel and materials on the days of elections. He added that all the vehicles to be involved in the exercise across the states would be certified by the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), and all would have tracking devise installed by the commission to ensure the safety of all personnel and electoral materials.

    The National Commissioner said Nigerians who are yet to collect their Permanent Voters Cards have up to Feb 8, to do so at the local government offices of the commission nationwide, adding that all uncollected PVCs would thereafter be withdrawn for safekeeping pending the conclusion of the two strands of elections in the electoral calendar this year.

    Okoye said; “All the state offices and local government offices of the commission have taken delivery of the non-sensitive materials for the conduct of the elections, while the various branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria are presently receiving sensitive materials for the conduct of the elections.”

    He said the commission has accredited a total of 116 domestic and 28 foreign election observers for the 2019 elections, while the commission’s chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on January 12, 2019, have signed the regulations and guidelines for the election.

    Okoye disclosed that among other innovations, the commission has enhanced the smart card readers, eliminated the use of incident forms, and has introduced the use of Braille jackets, magnifying glasses and assistive posters for persons living with disability, while it is also working on appropriate framework for internally displaced persons voting.

     

  • Credible elections

    The challenge of free, fair and credible elections has been in the public space for some time now. And with barely two weeks to the presidential and National Assembly elections, anxiety over the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), to conduct an election that will satisfy credible standards has been mounting.

    Not unexpectedly, allegations on the possibility of the coming elections being manipulated and compromised have been traded from right, left and centre. This should not be surprising given the history of elections on these shores.

    But for the 2015 elections that were largely considered free and fair culminating in the defeat of an incumbent president, other elections before then were trailed and marred by allegations of electoral fraud of all hue. There were also incidences of violence resulting in several deaths in some parts of the country as those not satisfied with their outcome took to violent protests.

    Though the 2015 election was not without its own shortcomings given that in some parts of the country; people below the voting age were cited voting without reprimand, that election still stood out as one of the best we have had in this country. And the way the incumbent president threw in the towel by congratulating his opponent even when the final results were yet to be declared added up to the good rating that election has since enjoyed.

    Given this enviable record, general expectation is that the coming elections would be a substantial improvement on the last one. It is the general feeling that the current regime being a beneficiary of free and fair elections and the uncommon magnanimity of the last regime in conceding defeat, should yet set a higher performance electoral standard than what we saw in 2015.

    That has been the expectation. But this optimism seems to pale in the face of mounting allegations that the Buhari regime is set to manipulate the outcome of the coming elections. Just last week, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo attacked President Buhari accusing him of plotting to rig the coming elections. In an open letter titled “Point for Concern and Action”, Obasanjo among others alleged that the president and his party were recruiting collation officers who are already awarding election results.

    He said the current plan is to drape the pre-determined results with a toga of credibility and also use violence of unimaginable proportion which will be unleashed in high voting population areas across the country to precipitate re-run elections. These are very weighty allegations especially coming from someone like Obasanjo.

    But the presidency faulted the allegations and restated its promise to ensure the conduct of credible election that will satisfy both voters and the international community. Others have lampooned Obasanjo accusing him of nursing a sinister agenda.

    A statement by the senior special assistant to president on media, Garba Shehu said “claims that President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have embarked on self-succession project by recruiting collation officers who are already awarding results based on their projects to actualize the perpetuation agenda, in which the people will not matter and their votes will not count is not only utterly false, but copious note from the book on the failed third term agenda of Obasanjo”.

    And in far away Taraba State, former Defence Minister Theophilus Danjuma alleged plans to rig the election in that state through imposition against the wish of the people of the state. “This time, they have perfected run off. Once you don’t win the first time, the second time, they will sit down and write the result and announce it in the run-off. They will award votes and this is the primitive democracy we operate in this country”, Danjuma claimed.

    Apparently due to rising concerns on the prospects of the elections being compromised, the governments of both United States of America US and United Kingdom UK came out last week to warn against any attempt to compromise the outcome of the coming elections. In a statement in Abuja, they warned that politicians working to scuttle the elections would face some sanctions. They said they do not support any political party or candidate as their interest is in a genuinely free, fair transparent and peaceful process because of the position of the country in the sub continent.

    It is thus very obvious that irrespective of the veracity or otherwise of some of the allegations that have been peddled, there are serious concerns on the prospects of the coming election meeting the standard test of free and fair polls in which the collective will of the electorate as expressed in the ballot box will reign supreme.  Both the government and INEC have come out time without number to reassure their commitment to credible polls that will satisfy voters and the international community.

    Even with these copious assurances, suspicion that the election will still be rigged has continued to mount as we have seen from raging allegations. And that is a measure of the do-or-die attitude of politicians when they contest for electoral positions. There is the general feeling that given the slightest opportunity, politicians on these shores will definitely rig elections. That goes without saying.

    By now, we are familiar with the phenomenon of vote buying which has compelled INEC to design a number of strategies to curb. But even as INEC invents these strategies, politicians are quick to invent and exploit loopholes to sabotage that policy. But these infractions are not as worrisome as when the government in power or the electoral umpire sets out to compromise the outcome of the elections. That is the dimension that has been brought to the fore by the trending allegations.

    We may dismiss the allegations for want of credible evidence. We are also at liberty to accept the assurances from the government and INEC to conduct credible polls. But one thing that stands out very distinctly is that our politicians will rig election given the slightest chance. It is as bad as that. What this implies is that the electoral umpire must be above board in its conduct of the coming elections. It must shun pressures from the government if the alarm raised will not turn out as self-fulfilling prophesy.

    There have been allegations that the INEC usually hides under minor excuses to order re-run so as to give the government the chance to concentrate its efforts in those singular elections and sway the outcome to its advantage. We have had many instances of such since the tenure of the current INEC chairman and the outcome has been quite revealing. We must guard against that in the coming election as Nigerian have seen through the inherent subterfuge in such re-run elections.

    Beyond all this, the fate of the coming elections is in the hands of INEC. How they go about it in the face of mounting allegations that some of its staff disposition may not command the confidence of the electorate and the political parties is entirely their own. The political atmosphere is already charged. What the electoral umpire does or fails to do in the weeks ahead will have serious repercussions for this country.

    The country is already inundated with serious security challenges in many fronts that we can ill afford to host another crisis arising from disputed elections. It is therefore incumbent on all those that wish this country well to do all within their powers to ensure that the coming elections are a substantial improvement on the 2015 outing. We cannot afford any less.

  • Naval Chief assures of credible elections in 2019

    The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, said yesterday that the Nigerian Navy, in conjunction with other sister services would provide formidable security architecture for credible, free and fair elections in 2019.

    The Naval boss who assured that the military would remain apolitical under the present democracy, enjoined officers and men of the Nigerian Navy to remain loyal to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari.

    Vice Admiral Ibas made the remarks shortly after the 4th Quarters Route March of the Nigerian Navy at Mogadishu Military Cantonment, Abuja.

    The Naval boss was represented by the Chief of Naval Transformation, Naval Headquarters, Abuja, Rear Admiral Begroy Ibe -Enwo.

    Ibas who urged officers and men of the force to remain committed to their constitutional duties, noted that the route march was being organised to ensure that officers and men remain fit and ever ready for any assignment in line with their constitutional roles.

    He said: “I wish to restate the Nigerian Navy’s operational preparedness towards supporting formidable internal security architecture in conjunction with other stakeholders for a free, fair and credible election in 2019.

    “At this juncture, I therefore categorically state that the Nigerian Navy will continue to remain apolitical, loyal and committed to the unity of our dear nation under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

    The CNS noted that the Nigerian Navy’s operational efficiency and combat readiness were premised on mental and physical fitness of its personnel.

    He said the successful conduct of the route march in Abuja and other NN formations attest to the Service’s willingness to continue to partner with other sister Services to defend the territorial integrity of the country.

    “The successful conduct of the Fourth Quarter Route March in Abuja Area and other Nigerian Navy formations attest to our readiness and resolve to unfailingly continue to partner with other sister Services in order to defend the territorial integrity of our dear nation.

    “Apart from the territorial defence of our nation, the NN has demonstrated the desired will and courage in formidable partnership with other security agencies to enhance Nigeria’s internal security through dedicated internal security operations,” he said.

    He said the NN would continue to make itself available in periods of emergency and disaster in order to bring relief and succour to victims across the length and breadth of the country.

  • 2019: Sultan, stakeholders seek peaceful, credible elections

    Ahead of the general elections next year, the Sultan of Sokoto and other religious leaders have called on politicians and other stakeholders for peaceful, free, fair and credible elections.

    They spoke at a forum on religious leaders’ consultation “Towards peaceful 2019 general elections in Nigeria”. It was organised yesterday by International Centre for Inter-Faith Peace and Harmony (ICIPH) in Abuja.

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who was represented by Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, stressed the need for all Nigerians, irrespective of their political and religious inclination, to promote peaceful co-existence to ensure economic growth and development in the country.

    Abubakar identified peace as a factor for any nation that wanted development and urged Nigerians to guard against anything that could threaten the peace currently being enjoyed in the country.

    He, however, urged politicians and other stakeholders to do their best to ensure credible elections in 2019, adding that it is the wisest course to peace and progress in the country.

    According to him, the ICIPH will continue to mobilise religious leaders in the nation to promote peace and harmony among Muslims and Christians in Nigeria.

    He said religious leaders were key to ensuring lasting peace in the country, adding that they had a crucial role to play in ensuring religious harmony among Christians and Muslims in the country.

    “The religious leaders will therefore use their existing platforms to propagate the message of peace and tolerance,” he said.

    The sultan commended the interfaith group for its efforts towards strengthening unity among Muslims and Christians in the country and encouraged it not to relax in educating Nigerians to shun conflicts and religious intolerance.

    Vice President, Christian Council of West Africa, Rev. Benebo Fubara-Manuel, advised politicians to desist from their attitude of desperation for power.

    He said: “Peace is important. If we kill ourselves because of elections, in the end, who are we going to lead? ”.

    Fubara-Manuel called for peaceful period of campaign by all the political parties, urging Nigerians to reject political violence, inter or intra party violence in the forthcoming general elections.

    Rev. Israel Akanji, President of Abuja Conference of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, expressed hope that the forum would help proffer ways of promoting peace in the country ahead of the general elections.

    He urged Nigerians to be united and look beyond political affiliations to create harmony, peace, healing and reconciliation among the people, with special reference to the 2015 elections.

    Dr. Usman Bugaje, a former Political Adviser in the Presidency during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, called on politicians to avoid hate speech and instead, focus on issue- based campaign.

    Bugaje stressed that politicians and other stakeholders should be more concerned on a process leading to free, fair, transparent and peaceful polls in 2019.

  • Again, Buhari assures of credible elections

    President Muhammadu Buhari has again assured of his determination to lay a foundation for free, fair and credible elections in the country.

    He was responding to a speech by a delegation of Imams and senior Islamic scholars from the 36 states of the federation at the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, a number of measures put in place have seen the gradual improvement of elections as in Edo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, from what he described as “dismal and unacceptable levels witnessed in Rivers and Kogi states.”

    The President, in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “What I want to assure Nigerians of is that I will continue to pressure the police and other agencies to do their best to ensure a conducive atmosphere for free and fair elections.”

    On the issue of security raised by some religious groups, President Buhari said he would continue to nudge security agencies to find lasting solutions, stressing, however, the need for community and religious leaders to play a part in identifying the criminals in their midst.

    He thanked the Muslim religious leaders for recognising the various achievements of the administration, especially in dealing with insecurity, fighting corruption and making progress in agriculture.

    The leader of the delegation, Dr. Khalid Aliyu, who is the Secretary General of the Jama’atul Nasril Islam, had lavishly praised the President’s achievements in key areas of his campaign in 2015, namely security, corruption and the economy.

    “So far, so good. Government has gone a long way in meeting its promises,” he stated.

  • How technology can deliver credible elections, by NCS

    Nigeria’s elections have usually been marred by rigging and violence, leading to deaths and destruction of properties. But the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) believes the application of technology to the process would change the narrative, reports LUCAS AJANAKU

    THE Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) has said the application of technology to the elector  al process in the country would deliver free, fair and rancour-free elections.

    Its President, Prof Adesola Aderounmu, said there is the need for information communication technology (ICT) to be deployed to electioneering not only in the country, but also in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Speaking on: The future of elections in Nigeria: Leveraging ICT infrastructure for sustainable national electoral process at theFifth Covenant University Conference on e-Governance in Nigeria at Otta, Ogun State, he said elections should be seen as the best opportunity to encourage political leaders to promote innovation in the polity.

    “So, using ICT to elect credible leaders could motivate successful and satisfied politicians to encourage emerging governments to adapt the innovations to mainstream development and governance.

    “As the 2019 elections draw closer, there is no doubt that putting in place relevant ICT infrastructure for the application of adaptable technology in our electoral processes will go a long way to ensure transparency and credibility of the elections. It is a welcome development that leveraging technology had started, even if rudimentary, with the last 2015 elections that ushered in the present administration in Nigeria.

    “For instance, the application of technology for biometric registration of voters, the issuance of smart permanent voters card (PVC) to voters and voter verification and authentication using the smart card reader, has helped the infiltration of ICT into the electoral process. So also was the idea to scan and upload all voting result sheets for all the elections on a database, which was made accessible to all stakeholders for some months after the 2015 elections. All these formative adaptations of technology with the 2015 elections are commendable, but there is still a long way to go with our future elections,”  Aderounmu said.

     Sensitisation, civic education, e-inclusion

    Aderounmu, who is the Co-Centre Leader, World Bank-Designated Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering, ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife, said when it comes to conducting elections, sensitisation and civic education are  key in the electoral process and are necessary for democracy. It is all about voter consciousness and popular participation in elections. The citizens, who are voters, need to be effectively sensitised or enlightened about their civic duties and rights during elections.

    According to him, voter education should come before and during an electoral event, showing how, where, and when to vote. Citizens need to know why they must turn out to vote and how to cast their votes to make them count. Sensitissing and educating voters have always been done via the traditional mass media and direct town-hall community engagements.

    He said now with the pervasive influence of technology in society today, educating and cultivating the voters can be done better with the leverage of digital media such as  mobile phone with bulk SMS, bulk voice call or inbound interactive voice response, and the use of web-portals from pre-election polls.

    “Digital technology now enriches political communications and voter engagement like never before. And with the majority of people having access to computers and mobile technology devices these days, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other concerned agencies can transform the sensitisation, civic education and e-inclusion of with the use of the internet via popular social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and special mobile apps to channel and disseminate voter education messages,” he said.

    According to him, digital media help information to be disseminated faster, smarter and real-time, reaching far more people and carrying everybody along. As an illustration, the Barack Obama American presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012 as well as the global Arab Spring in 2011 transformed interest in leveraging networked digital connectivity for political action. During those epochal moments, he recalled, the use of social media for citizen engagement spread like wild fire. “Today, even experts at the Brookings Center for Technology Innovation in the U.S. affirmatively advocate “using social networking and digital tools to reinvigorate democracy and extend electronic engagement from campaigns and grassroots-activism to governance.” However, he said it is also possible that not every Nigerian voter will have access to new, cost-effective technological solutions like internet-enabled smartphones.

    For instance, using the internet for voter engagement is a step forward in accommodating technologically advanced voters. So, INEC needs to consider these less-technologically advanced voters as we adopt ICT in our electoral process. And also, voter education should be a continuous process and not necessarily tied to an election year.

    Constituency delimitation

    Another way to leverage ICT for Nigeria’s electoral process is through constituency delimitation, using digital maps and charts for proper voter registration.

    In a democracy, constituency delimitation is very important and an improper segmentation of constituencies can compromise the electoral process, thereby provoking needless conflicts and insinuations of marginalisation among peoples and politicians. To address this, it is better to apply the use of ICT solutions, such as digital mapping, digital charts, Global Positioning System (GPS) and GIS Satellite Footprints like the NigeriaSat-1. GPS uses satellites that orbit earth to send information to GPS receivers that are on the ground. The information so received helps people determine their location.

    Registration, data capture

    Voter registration and data capture constitute a major foundational step in the electoral process. Without a proper voters register, there cannot be proper elections. Voter registration helps to facilitate the credibility of the electoral process by preventing multiple voting as each person is only allowed to register once. With this, no one is allowed to register at multiple centres.  It helps in preventing cases of underage voting because only adults of voting age (18 years and above) are registered. He said there have always been controversies over voter registration as some complain of ghost names appearing on the voters register, names of foreign nationals appearing and names of under-age voters appearing too on the register. The use of a centralised countrywide database for voter registration, drawing on the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) data inventory will be good. Updates to the centralised database can be done through web portal e-mails with smart fields, mobile apps, and automatic fingerprint and photo identification systems. In a way, online voter registration via the internet is simpler and more secure than paper registration and manual updates, Aderounmu said.

    Voter verification, voting

    He said when election day comes, ICT also has a huge role to play in streamlining the electoral process to make the election outcomes fair and valid. In fact, the deployment of technology during elections is most consequential because it helps minimise the rampant incidents of rigging and its resultant crises.

    “Thus voter verification and voting on election day can be digitally done through the use of direct electronic recoding machine, optical scanning system, use of smart cards and card readers,” he said.

    Card reader technology was deployed during the 2015 general elections, but card readers malfunctioned in a lot of voting areas across the country. There were even complaints by some governors that the card readers deployed by INEC could not read their fingerprints at the polling booths.

    He said for the coming 2019 elections, we hope INEC would have upgraded the card reader technology to be more effective and error-free. Also, the security of the voting technology is of great concern, and INEC officials must take significant steps to secure the voting equipment from their warehouses to the voting centres. This is where GPS technology also proves useful, as it helps INEC to track its drivers as they deliver equipment and supplies to the polling booths or transport election results from there, to avoid tampering with sensitive vote data.

    Vote counting,computation

    For so long in Nigeria, the use of manual systems in vote counting during elections has been the practice. This process should be transformed with digital computation technology that is cheaper, faster and more accurate. Deploying technology in vote counting will also improve the electoral process by making the counting of tedious electoral systems easier to use.

    Thus, new ICT innovations can be used to replace traditional paper ballots. As earlier said under voter verification and voting, using direct electronic devices, or using machine-readable ballots, can help remove the need to count ballots manually and greatly speed up the vote counting process, as well as guaranteeing accuracy. So, with vote counting and computation, it is highly recommended that INEC engages the use of result management systems.  Most automated voting systems even come with analytics based software to make vote counting and computation easier.

    Result dissemination

    After votes have been properly counted and computed, vote results can also be digitally disseminated to the public. Results can be streamed real-time from INEC website, obtained via SMS Query interfacing with INEC website and real-time RSS Feed.

    Other ICT apps

    The applications of technology in improving the electoral process and enriching democracy are quite many. There are other ICT apps such as the automation of electoral court system; digitisation of ballot papers; use of financial tracking technologies for campaign funds that require the cooperation of financial institutions; deployment of motion detectable security cameras at polling booths (in addition to cameras attached to the voting system); use of robots for detection and diffusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs); and use of body scanners with alarm system at polling booths.

    Challenges

    There are enormous challenges against deploying an ICT-driven electoral system in Nigeria. This is not surprising because the penetration of new technological advances in other areas of our national life has always been sluggish, aside e-commerce and social media.

    He sad political manipulation by political actors is a major challenge against the adoption of ICT in the electoral process. “We all know that Nigerian politicians take elections as a do-or-die affair and would kick against, or circumvent, any innovation that would deny them the opportunity to rig elections in their favour. So, the desperation of politicians to win elections by all means can frustrate or slow down the penetration of ICT in our electoral process,” he said.

    Also, abysmally inadequate infrastructure is a challenge against the leverage of technology in the electoral system. There is poor IT and base infrastructure in the country.

    Then, there is also the perennial problem of poor power infrastructure militating the application of ICT tools in the electoral process. It is a fact that IT needs stable power to function; when that is lacking, as it is the case in Nigeria, adoption of technology in the electoral system can be frustratingly