Nigeria’s first federal election upon independence ended disastrously, with the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) refusing to participate in the elections on the grounds of irregularities. On the eve of the poll, the major alliance of southern political parties, backed by the ceremonial president, insisted on a postponement of the election as the only way to bring about a free and fair expression of opinion. When the demand was denied, political leaders from southern Nigeria boycotted the election. Nevertheless, the election was held, and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and its allies went ahead to win the election with a majority of seats. The consequent events led to Nigeria tottering ‘perilously on the brink of disintegration and bloodshed,” as the President, in an open disagreement with the Prime Minister, threatened to resign rather than carry out his constitutional duty to invite the NPC to form a government. Sixty years later, the credibility of elections in Nigeria is almost worse than the experience in the 1960s.
“Nevertheless, the election was held, and the Northern People Congress (NPC) and its allies went ahead to win the election with a majority of seats.”
Whereas electoral irregularities occur in almost all democracies around the world, every country must constantly pursue processes that improve their electoral systems, as the foundation of a country’s credible leadership is credible elections. It is irreconcilable the paradox of progress in Nigeria’s electoral process, particularly in a digital age, where almost all human interactions are digitised for efficient results. To contextualise my immediate concern, it ruffles logic that a country like Nigeria, with one of Africa’s brightest communities of successful tech and digital entrepreneurs and citizens, is confined to the affliction of politically intended electoral irregularities. From the historical 1959 federal election that throttled Nigeria to independence in 1960 to the keenly contested electoral outcome of the 2023 general elections, Nigeria has continued to seek electoral reforms for a transparent, credible, free, and fair electoral process without success.
Notwithstanding that, to date, no free or open-source electronic voting systems have been used on a large national scale in any country, the Nigerian Bar Association’s recent National Executive Committee election presents a model that should guide Nigeria to leverage digital technologies for credible and inclusive elections. You cannot be an objective lawyer who voted in the last NBA election and will not question the rationale for INEC’s sustained failure to leverage the electoral legal framework to build a safe, seamless, and real-time e-voting system that allows for a hybrid Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAs), digitise the accreditation systems that will allow Nigerians anywhere in the world to vote either virtually or physically, ensure that votes cast at physical polling units are reflected real-time on the Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV), and provide credible electoral outcomes. NBA’s e-voting system is not perfect, but since it was adopted by the NBA’s 27th President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN), in 2016 following the controversy that characterised the election that produced his administration in 2014, NBA’s e-voting system, which replaced the old delegates system, has helped to reduce campaign expenses and ensure a seamless voting process. After four subsequent deployments of the e-voting system in NBA elections, the system has significantly improved.
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If an election is about people and the system seeks to ensure that the people truly participate in exercising their free will to choose their leaders, a hybrid voting model that is secure, inclusive, and efficient is required. With the level of entrenched electoral irregularities in Nigeria, an integrated hybrid model of voting remains a realistic option for sanitising the system. As Nina Wudiri puts it, the ‘purchased participation of the people in a democracy cannot be stopped by the rhetoric that “once you sell your vote, you have sold your voice,” particularly in the face of poverty and illiteracy.’ The best way to deepen the freedom of the people to express their free will is to improve election technology that helps to reduce the tendency of human inference and compromise. By advancing election technology, we can reduce the logistical challenges of delayed delivery of electoral materials, reduce widespread apathy, eliminate ballot box fraud, and reduce electoral violence.
We have barely two years and five months until the 2027 general elections. To restore voters’ confidence, INEC must galvanise relevant stakeholders to amend Sections 40, 60, and 64, among other sections of the Electoral Act, 2022, to ensure that the accreditation, voting, collation, and announcement components of the electoral process, which is mainly a manual process at the moment, are made hybrid, allowing for the BVAs to be used for both accreditation and voting, with votes cast reflecting real-time. INEC must further continue to develop a safe technology for digital voting—every eligible electorate should be able to vote from anywhere in the world. Voting should be through a hybrid model that allows for physical and digital voting; ballot paper should only be allowed as a last resort in cases where both the BVAs and digital voting channels fail. Like the NBA voting portal, once you verify your unified unique identification number, the voting portal should direct you to select and vote for your candidates of choice and click submit to cast your vote.
Notwithstanding that some countries have tried e-voting and had to stop due to concerns about digital security and reliability, Nigeria must continue to develop its version of e-voting technology. No doubt, there will be challenges, particularly with merely 43.53 percent broadband penetration in Nigeria as of February 2024 and the unavoidable possibility of cyber-attack on such platforms. Our electoral legal framework must broaden the scope of treason to include cyberattacks on our electoral infrastructure, such as the e-voting platform.
Those who hold the backward brief that poor internet services, possible voting platform breach, likely conflict of interest, and other related challenges are sufficient reasons to continue to conduct analogue and easily manipulated elections must first realise that it is not possible that there is an impossible social problem that cannot be solved with rational, purposeful, transformational, focused, resilient, and sincerely transparent leadership.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Ekpa, Stanley Ekpa a lawyer and leadership consultant wrote via [email protected]
