Electoral Reforms and the Introduction of BVAS in the Electoral Process: A Study of 2023 General Elections in Nigeria

Abstract

Since the inception of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria when democracy took the centre stage again after a long military rule, nothing seems to spur the nation’s democratic agenda than the discourse on the appropriate electoral system for the country. We can lay credence to this much talked about reform when we put into consideration the fact that no election in Nigeria since 1959 has gone undisputed. The continuous attempt to reform the electoral process is borne out of the irregularities, malpractices and violence that characterized elections since its introduction into the Nigeria polity. In addressing this issue, Nigeria’s new Electoral Act 2022 was introduced to legitimize the use of technology in different aspects of the electoral process. In the past, several efforts at reforming the Electoral Act has suffered huge setback hence, the main objective of this work is to examine the impacts of electoral reforms and the introduction of BVAS in the electoral process with focus on 2023 General elections in Nigeria. The work relied on secondary data sourced from books, journals, and the Internet thus, adopted an analytical research design in the process, while descriptive analysis was employed to analyze data gathered, which was presented in a narrative form. The study showed that the components of Nigeria electoral reforms include introduction of electronic processes; financial autonomy of the electoral umpire; exclusion of political appointees from acting as voting delegates or aspirants among others. The research however found out that low technology adaptation in an infrastructure-challenged environment, weak institutions and systemic peculiarities, ill activities of Nigeria’s political elites ranging from greed for power, vote buying and non-adherence to electoral laws have undermined the country’s chances for credible, free and fair elections. The study concludes that adoption of components of Nigeria electoral reforms will substantially enrich the electoral process and make it more credible and resilient however, it recommended that Nigeria’s electoral system should be strengthened; there is need for INEC to find a lasting solution to address the perennial BVAS and IReV challenges and poor handling of the welfare of ad-hoc staff.