NGO suggests electronic voting in 2023

INEC Election Ballot Box

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Centre for the Advocacy of Justice and Right (CAJR), has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to replace the manual voting pattern with electronic system of voting, in the 2023 general polls.

The NGO, in a press conference on Monday in Jos, opined that electronic voting and collation would ease the electoral processes and address most of the challenges faced in the just-concluded general polls.

Mr Kingsley Obida, the Programme Officer of CAJR, who addressed the press conference, particularly expressed optimism that electronic voting would end box snatching, destruction of electoral materials and vote buying.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Obida, at the news conference, presented his NGO’s findings on the just concluded 2019 polls in Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa States, and the FCT.

NAN also reports that CAJR had trained 76 civil society leaders who monitored the polls in the six states and the FCT.

“From our findings, electronic voting and result collation will address the menace of ballots box snatching, destruction of electoral materials, vote buying and other electoral vices.

“That pattern of voting will also build the confidence of Nigerians on the credibility of the electoral process,” he explained.

Obida said that his organisation observed various electoral misconducts and frauds across the states it monitored, and declared that most of the anomalies would be addressed with a shift from manual to electronic voting pattern.

The NGO official urged INEC to create a unified data base to curb underage voting through the use of National Identity Cards.

Obida called for stiffer punishment for electoral offenders to serve as deterrent to others.

The officer advised the electoral body to build strong synergy with relevant stakeholders to shore up voter education and ward off confusion on election days.

NAN reports that the election monitoring project tagged “Nigeria Election Violence Resorts (NEVR), Project 2019”, was supported by the International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES), USAID, and the United Kingdom Agency for International Development.