Adopt e-voting, Nigerian urges INEC

From Akinnodi Francis, Ore
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A concerned Nigerian, Mr. Tayo Ogundeji has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adopt electronic voting system for major elections in the country.

Ogundeji made the call in an interview with The Hope in Ore, the headquarters of Odigbo Local Government area of Ondo State at the Weekend.

Electronic voting refers to using  computerised voting machines to cast ballots instead of the conventional ballot papers.

According to him, voting electronically reduces election rigging especially in areas where inaccessible by the electoral officials.

He said that technology has been infused in our lives and adopting e-voting was important in ensuring that everyone was carried along in the electoral process.

“A lot of things we do manually years back are done with the use of technology now. Then, student in higher institution will look for lecturers to sign a form.

“We do not need to do that anymore in schools, registering for courses are now automatic because everything is done online. You can write examination on online, so technology is part of our lives now.

“Things have changed. New ideas and innovations are important in our development as a nation, so we are agitating for e-voting.

“20 years to come, nobody will be arguing about e-voting,  because we do not have a choice,” he said.

Ogundeji explained that there was no way INEC can manage election effectively without the use of e-voting.

“So if there is a credible institution called INEC that really wants to get the job done, it has to introduce electronic voting to ensure that all areas are captured during elections”.

“The plethora of cases emanating from the 2019 general elections demand for total electronic voting system as the only panacea for credible, free and fair election in Nigeria.

“The semi electronic voting system deployed in the 2015 election had brought to the fore the need for total electronic system. From 2007 when electronic registration was introduced till the last election, one thing is certain, that electronic data base cannot function well with a manual voting system.

“The introduction of the card reader could not prevent controversy let alone mess from operating the equipment properly and result resolution. INEC should introduce new technology to make our electoral process creditable and respected”, he explained.