NCS Calls for Automation of Electoral Processes in 2023 Election

Emma Okonji

Following the irregularities in the selection of party delegates and the manner in which the delegates voted in the primary elections across all political parties, the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for all Information Technology (IT) practitioners in Nigeria, has called for the automation of electoral processes in the forthcoming 2023 general election.

President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, who made the call during an interview with THISDAY, said automation of electoral processes would help Nigeria to select credible leaders in all elections and address her insecurity challenges.

According to Sodiya, “As a body of Computer Professionals, we are not pleased with what is going on in our electoral processes, especially the manner in which party delegates were selected and the manner in which they voted in the primary elections. All we are seeing across board are primaries fraught with irregularities, where state governors have become so powerful to influence the selection of their party delegates and the manner in which the delegates cast their votes. If you compare the Nigerian electoral system with that of developed counties, you will see that Nigeria is still far behind in election processes because technology is not driving the process.”

Sodiya further said: “The process for selecting party delegates in all the political parties has been parochial and hinged on money. It is high time Nigeria moves away from the parochial method of selecting delegates and from the voting pattern of the delegates, to an automated system of selection and voting of delegates that is driven by technology.
If we continue to neglect technology in driving our electoral processes, we will not be able to produce credible leaders from the various political party structures.”

Citing the population of Nigeria that is over 200 million people, Sodiya said over 100 million Nigerians have attained the voting age of 18 years, which means that if the process of producing credible candidates at primary elections is faulty, it will also affect the votes of the eligible 100 million adult Nigerians who will vote at the general election.

“We must adopt technology to automate all our electoral processes , which includes the use of electronic voting (e-voting) and electronic transmission of election results to to a single portal. Technology should be applied from the selection of party delegates up to the voting of party delegates and the technology should be applied in the general election, where over 100 million Nigerians are expected to vote,” Sodiya said, adding that Nigeria needs automation process in determining credible leaders that will address the division and insecurity among us. With automation of electoral process, people can vote from the comfort of their houses, using their mobile phones.

“The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is able to conduct JAMB exams using Computer Based Centres (CBS) and exam scores are transmitted electronically from the CBS centres to a portal without human interface and this has brought a lot of credibility in JAMB results. If JAMB can automate exam processes, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be able to adopt technology to automate electoral processes in the country,’ Sodiya said.

NCS Executive Secretary, Mr. Iyola Ayola, said: “Nigerian government must adopt technology in all electoral processes, especially in this era of digital transformation that is sweeping across the globe. Automaton of electoral processes is the way to go and I strongly advise INEC to make it mandatory for political parties to deploy IT in their internal structures, especially in the selection of party delegates and in the manner in which they vote. A situation where governors and politicians hijack and induce party delegates, should be discouraged.”