The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) in collaboration with the Electoral Commissions Forum of the Southern Africa Development Countries EFC-SADC, held a three-day international conference in Abuja between April 9 and 11 with the theme “Opportunities and Challenges in the Use of Technology in Election.”
The participants at the well- attended conference such as chairpersons, vice chairpersons and members of Election Monitoring Bodies (EMBs) in the ECOWAS and SADC countries, reviewed, assessed and shared experiences on the lessons learnt on theintroduction, trend, impact and potentials of the use of election technologies in the last three decades.
While fielding questions on the possibility of enhancing the success of elections with the use of technology INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, who also chairs the ECONEC, reiterated that even though thecommission will deploy technology in the collation and transmission of results the commission will however, not employ electronic votingin the 2019 election apparently because of some challenges associated with that.
The conference organized by the INEC, the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES), the Electoral Commissions Forum of Southern Africa Development Countries (ECF/SADC) drew participants from over 30 countries from West and southern African sub-regions, who brainstormed on the deployment of technology for elections.
Yakubu noted that within the existing legal framework in Nigeria, the commission has enough backing for the deployment of technology saying “I want to categorically say that the commission is not deploying electronic voting in 2019 but we will deploy technology for the collation and transmission of electronic results and we believe that by doing so we will collate, transmit and declare results more speedily and more accurately.”
He added that the commission will involve the citizens through what he called “Citizens Mandate Protection” to help at polling stations.
“With technology election is in the hands of the people. We want to assure you that technology has come to stay in the conduct of elections in the two sub region and we are not just talking about actual voting, collation and transmission of results but all other processes including the confirmation of the voters register. Technology will be deployed in all the processes including the tracking of logistics for elections.
“We will continue to do whatever that is required to ensure that we retain the confidence of our people because elections at the end of the day is not just about technology it is about the people and about the people’s confidence in the process. Technology is a facilitator it is never an end in itself,” he said.
The conferences was supported by the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) whose President Monica Frassaoni, noted that the views expressed during the three-day meeting will form the basis of ECES continued support for Nigeria in the 2019 elections.
At the conclusion of the exercise, the stakeholders resolved to encapsulate their vision in the Abuja Declaration, which stipulated a 10- point agenda namely;
“That EMBs of the ECONEC and ECF-SADC regions bear the burden discharging the sacred national duty of organizing and conducting free, fair, credible and transparent elections, bearing in mind that the outcome of a well conducted and generally accepted election is the basis of good governance, peace, stability and development. On the other hand, a badly conducted election with disputed outcome is always a trigger for conflict, sometimes resulting in civil war with negative consequences, not only on the affected state, but on neighboring states in particular and the region and the continent in general;
“EMBs of ECONEC and ECF-SADC regions are aware that sustaining the usage of technology in elections is an expensive undertaking. This requires the mobilization of adequate resources, which sometimes may be beyond the capacity of the state to bear as a sovereign responsibility. Therefore, the private sector, which requires a stable and peaceful political and socio-economic environment to operate and thrive, should contribute to meeting the cost of elections;
“EMBs of ECONEC and ECF-SADC regions are willing to take advantage of the opportunities offered by technological innovations to improve the credibility of the electoral processes and to enhance the sanctity of the ballot and integrity of the electoral outcomes. In doing so, EMBs should view the application of technological innovations in the electoral process as a facilitator, rather than “magic bullet” for the delivery of good and credible election by adopting simple, appropriate, cost effective and sustainable technologies. The deployment of such technological equipment and applications should be secured in law, protected against intrusion and accompanied by appropriate training of electoral officials and effective civic and vote education to engender trust, confidence and ownership by all stakeholders;
“EMBs of ECONEC and ECF-SADC regions are conscious of the numerous challenges associated with the adoption, deployment and usage of electoral technology, including the deficit of infrastructure and expertise, cost, choice and effectiveness of technology, as well as the twin issues of communication platforms and security od sensitive election data in a world characterized by cyber warfare and election interference through the use of technology on a global scale by state and non-state actors among others.”
Nigerians are just too eager to see the success of the much hyped use of technology in the 2019 elections but remain apprehensive of the deficit infrastructure needed to drive the use of technology.
Innocent Odoh, Abuja
