Electronic Voting Possible If…

NIGERIANS can vote electronically today if the
Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, wants it to work. The other side to the
use of electronic voting is the National
Assembly, and myriad of politicians who have
interests that electronic voting would not
support.
INEC has enough equipment to ensure
electronic voting. The equipment bought for
2007 and more for the 2011 elections all have
the capacity to support electronic voting. The
registration of voters was done electronically,
with all the data captured in modes that make
it possible for us to vote electronically. Prof.
Attahiru Jega, INEC Chairman, last year, said
electronic voting would happen soon.
Former INEC Chairman Prof. Maurice Iwu,
before the 2007 elections, proposed electronic
voting. He was dismissed. Low literacy was one
of the reasons cited for the rejection. When
would Nigerians be literate enough to use
electronic voting? Are there no solutions to the
literacy barriers?
Constitutional hurdles, according to INEC,
particularly Section 52 (2) of the Electoral Law,
forbid electronic voting. It may not be the
main reason. We have seen the National
Assembly amend the Constitution as many
times as it wanted for the 2011 elections. It
approved budgetary allocations with speed.
Why would it not make the laws to support
electronic voting?
The answer lies on the approach to power.
Politicians utilise rigging as a strong
instrument in their quest for victories. They
are afraid electronic voting could create shifts
in power, away from their control.
Benefits of electronic voting are numerous. It
would ensure speed in the collation of results,
stop rigging and restore confidence in our
elections.
Electronic voting, used in Brazil since 1996,
has improved elections. From the 1989
presidential elections where the vote count
lasted nine days, the 2002 general elections
was counted in less than 12 hours. Even in the
rural areas, results were ready within minutes
of concluding voting.
The Electoral Act can be amended to
accommodate this important change in our
elections. What is the point of having a law
that cannot fulfil the mandates it claims it has
set out to address? The Electoral Act fails to
punish rigging, electronic voting could stop
rigging.
No proper account of the 2011 elections have
been given, especially how the technological
advances that cost billions of Naira did not
facilitate improvements in the process. INEC
can use the time left to resolve the issues with
its equipment and promote electronic voting
education to deal with the literacy challenge.
Management of post-election crises, from
perceived rigging, leaves Nigeria with
governments that lack credibility. INEC and the
National Assembly should re-visit electronic
voting, which the National Assembly uses well
in conducting its businesses.