TECHNOLOGY AND NIGERIA’S ELECTORAL PROCESS: INTERROGATING ISSUES OF CREDIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE 2019 AND 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS
Abstract
The Nigerian electoral process has evolved since the days of the restricted and municipal franchise. Since the Fourth Republic, successive administrations have demonstrated a commitment to democratic sustainability in Nigeria by deploying technology to support the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) in conducting free, credible, and transparent elections. This paper observes that every election cycle attracts incremental appropriations and renewed commitments to using procured technology to midwife a digitalised, hitch-free, credible, and transparent electoral process, culminating in the sanctity of the electorates' will. The realities that underpin these vaulting promises bequeath despair and dashed expectations regarding the deployment of technology in the Nigerian electoral process. Against this background, this paper interrogates the twin issues of credibility and transparency in the 2019 and 2023 general elections. The study adopts a qualitative methodology that relies on both primary and secondary sources and the Institutional Theoretical framework of analysis. The paper concludes that the deployment of technology in the electoral process, without institutional overhaul and the necessary political will to implement extant electoral reforms, undermines the basic principles of democracy. A credible and transparent electoral process in the future will restore confidence and increase participation.