From the standpoint of the present electoral situation in Nigeria, the following are discernible: Thuggery and violence, more than ever before are the bane of conducting free, fair and credible elections in the country; Buying of votes at polling centres is now the norm; Elections in Nigeria are heavily militarized; The Nigerian Judiciary is playing less than noble role in election matters; No serious efforts at reforming and improving on the electoral system.
Coming to terms with the last point will undoubtedly take care of the other issues. As already highlighted, there is a pending electoral bill passed by the last National Assembly. It needs to be reworked in the light of recent experiences in the 2019 general and two recent off-season elections. I have heard in the news that the present INEC is proposing some amendments to the present electoral law but curiously nobody is proposing the introduction of ELECTRONIC VOTING into the system. The view out there is that INEC officials are not interested in electronic voting not because it is neither desirable nor feasible but largely because its introduction will rob them of avenues to award all manner of contracts ranging from printing of ballot papers to hiring vehicles to deliver electoral materials during elections.
It may sound uncharitable but if an electoral body with all the challenges it has had to contend with of late is not thinking in the direction of electronic voting, then one cannot really fault that line of reasoning. The great poser: can the present INEC present itself as a forward-looking organisation that is in tune with current realities if it is not considering electronic voting at this stage?
The counter-argument to the proposal may be that the country is not yet ripe for that kind of project. What happens to those in the rural areas; how will they cope? A standard rejoinder will be to ask: those in the rural areas including the aged, don’t they use mobile phones today? A good analogy: when the present Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede introduced the use of computer-based test in the conduct of JAMB examinations in order to curb malpractices, it was greeted with much cynicism and derision. The same argument for those in the rural setting was canvassed. Today that initiative is working everywhere in the country and people are applauding, while JAMB is constantly fine-tuning the processes.
There is, therefore, nothing esoteric about Nigeria embracing electronic voting in this 21st century. If anything, it is more than overdue. My submission is very simple: let INEC immediately propose a bill to the National Assembly on this. Next general election period is still three years away. An urgent bill like that can’t take the National Assembly forever to pass. Give and take, INEC will have at least two years to educate Nigerians on the new mode of voting.
The advantages of electronic voting over the present arrangement are numerous. However, the following will suffice for now. First, the issue of thuggery and violence will be taken care of; there won’t be any ballot boxes to snatch or ballot papers to destroy. The fear of insecurity which has contributed in no small measure to voter apathy presently will be a thing of the past. More importantly, the issue of militarization of elections will be a non-issue. Second, the humongous amount of money being expended currently to conduct elections will be significantly minimized and channelled to more productive ventures; personnel and logistics costs would be curtailed. Third and as an adjunct, there won’t be any need to shut down the entire country in the case of general elections or some parts in the case of off-season elections. The nation has had to contend with a lot of social and economic dislocations and/or costs just because of elections; the compelling need to restrict movements won’t be tenable anymore. Fourth, having election results released on time is another outstanding advantage; the issue of delays leaving rooms for manipulation won’t be there. Finally, the country will be saved the unviable status of being the nation with the highest electoral cases in the world. The electorate and ONLY the electorate and not the election tribunals and courts will decide who is elected to any position of trust and authority in the country. Some of the bizarre judgments emanating from the courts these days will be history.
At this stage of its development and after twenty-one years of uninterrupted democratic rule, the nation deserves better than it is doing presently, electorally speaking. Nigerians must insist on ELECTRONIC VOTING if the nation must move forward. Having the wrong people purportedly elected is the beginning of stagnation and corruption. No democracy can ever thrive without credible elections!
Dr. Okolo is a chartered stockbroker and management consultant based in Lagos.
