The road has been long, hard and arduous as
Nigeria tries to establish a robust electronic voting infrastructure for its
elections. This dates back to at least 1999 when the nation ended a 30-year dictatorial
regime and replaced it with what it hoped to be a functional democracy. The
nation has struggled to offer fair, free and transparent elections since 2012
and the move to electronic voting could help to achieve this mission.
National elections involve a lot of planning
and they can exert widespread impact both in Nigeria itself and abroad.
Interestingly enough, some schools in Nigeria
may present a viable example for the country at large to follow. The Adeyemi
University of Education recently held elections to choose its student
government. The process was deemed a success and it is now being seen as “a
template for students' elections across the country and even a model for
national elections in the country.”
Particular attention is being paid to how
Adeyemi implemented and ran its student election using electronic voting
technology. Students could vote just about anywhere using the Internet, using their
mobile phones. For students without Internet access, four ICT centres and
polling units were provided, including Uninterrupted Power Supply units for
better and more reliable performance. In a country where access to electricity
and Internet may be difficult, these are a must.
Student body governments and elections
cannot be immediately equated to the processes and procedures of a full and
functional government, but they can serve as an example of what is possible and
within reach today. As Nigeria moves
forward toward using e-voting on a national scale, including its
experimentation with biometric
authentication of voter identities, support is growing for the adoption of
this technology.
Indeed, both the National Association of
Peaceful Elections in Nigeria (NAPEN) and the International Foundation for
Electoral System (IFES) are strongly encouraging the introduction of
early voting and full electronic voting in time for the 2019 general elections.
They are looking at the introduction of the card readers as a first-step toward
e-voting, for instance, as well as improving peace education to limit the
violence observed in past Nigerian elections.
By the time of the 2019 general elections,
Nigeria would have already had 20 uninterrupted years of democratic rule. To
this end, it has been
argued that now is the time “to consolidate on the baby steps taken over
the last 5 elections.” Many logistical issues plagued the 2015 elections,
including the millions of disenfranchised Nigerians who could not vote or chose
not to vote for fear of violence.
Electoral reform is clearly needed and it
should not be left to the last minute. The time to prepare for the 2019
e-voting future of Nigeria starts now.
