The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said in spite of the various technological innovations introduced to improve the country’s electoral process, the 27 per cent voter turnout recorded in the 2023 elections has shown that voter apathy could not be solved by technology alone.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the annual National Stakeholders’ Forum on Elections organised by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room with the theme: “Securing Nigeria’s Democracy: Building Consensus for Credible Elections and Accountable Governance.”
He noted that even with technology, they must collectively confront the persistent low turnout that threatened the very legitimacy of the country’s democracy.
He lamented that the country’s democracy was constantly battling, among others, the corrosive effect of misinformation, electoral malpractice such as rigging and vote-buying as well as violence.
Amupitan noted that the act of securing the country’s democracy required a proactive, multi-sectoral approach.
He added that the concept of building consensus for credible elections was vital to the discourse in that credible elections were the undisputed, non-negotiable foundation of democracy.
According to him, credibility was a public trust built only when all stakeholders (political parties, the media, security agencies, civil society, and INEC) agree on, and abide by the electoral rules and principles.
The INEC chairman stressed that when citizens believed their votes counted, they empowered themselves to hold their leaders to the highest standards.
“At the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), our strategic response to the imperative of credibility has been the systemic infusion of technology, legally backed by the Electoral Act 2022, into our electoral system.
“The deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has fundamentally redefined the process. It ensured that only genuinely accredited voters could cast their ballot, closing the door on over-voting and manual manipulation.
“Also, the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal has opened the electoral process to the world, making results available for public scrutiny on election day. This transparency is the new baseline for trust in our process.
“However, technology is not a panacea. The nation’s telecommunications network remains a formidable obstacle. With over 176,000 Polling Units, some of which are in remote areas, achieving real-time upload of all results to the IReV remains one of our toughest operational battles.
“As I have stated before, a tool like the BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on. We are, therefore, committed to continuous engagement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and network providers while actively exploring alternative technologies and building system redundancy to bridge these gaps.
“Even with technology, we must collectively confront the persistent low turnout that threatens the very legitimacy of our democracy. The 2023 general election recorded a turnout of just over 27 per cent, a stark reminder that apathy cannot be solved by technology alone.
“Our recent successes in mobilisation, like the one witnessed in Anambra State, provide a vital roadmap in this regard. Following the conclusion of the database clean-up, the final register for that election stood at 2,802,790 voters. Note that only 63.9 per cent of Anambra voters had initially collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs),” Amupitan stated.
Adedayo Akinwale
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