Electronic voting systems have the potential to reduce voting fraud in Nigeria, but they are not a complete solution on their own. The implementation of an electronic voting system requires significant infrastructure, cybersecurity measures, education, and cost. Furthermore, voters, poll workers, and election officials would all need to be trained on how to use electronic voting systems. While electronic voting systems have their benefits, other measures, such as ensuring the independence of election officials and providing greater transparency in the vote counting process, would also need to be taken to reduce voting fraud in Nigeria.

Olusola Jegede, Esq, the Managing Partner at Resolution Law Firm, has spoken out against the current mode of conducting elections in Nigeria, calling it a “sham” that is not intended to guarantee credible results. In a statement, Jegede argued that the only way to ensure a fair and transparent election process in Nigeria is through electronic voting.

“Electronic voting is the way forward for Nigeria,” said Jegede. “Countries like Brazil, which used to be at the same pace of development with Nigeria, have been using electronic voting since 1996. In fact, in 2010, when more than 135 million people voted in Brazil, the results were announced just within 75 minutes after the close of the election.”
Jegede went on to highlight the benefits of electronic voting, including increased transparency and the elimination of criminal interference from third parties. He explained that all votes cast should be directly and automatically transmitted to the INEC’s database, where they will be automatically counted. He also noted that some jurisdictions, like Georgia in the USA, permit voters to rectify their ballot in the event of any defect or mistake that might impact their votes from being counted.

Despite these benefits, lawmakers in Nigeria have been reluctant to pass a law mandating electronic voting. Jegede suggested that this reluctance may be due to a desire to maintain the status quo and the controversies that often arise during elections in Nigeria.
“The only reason lawmakers are refusing to pass a law to mandate electronic voting in Nigeria is to pave ways for this type of controversies experienced in every election in Nigeria and total ignorance of the effectiveness of electronic voting process,” Jegede said.

Jegede called on the good people of Nigeria, especially the youth, to demand that the National Assembly pass a law mandating electronic voting and automatic transmission of results. He argued that this would save needless loss of lives and destruction of ballot papers and prevent falsification of results, which are all too common in Nigeria.
“The BVAS recently introduced by INEC is ineffective because the actual voting and results collation are still done manually and thereby subject to manipulations,” Jegede concluded. “Only electronic voting system can solve the voting frauds and manipulations in Nigeria.”