Digitalization of Election Management System in Nigeria: A Contemporary Appraisal of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Abstract

Over time, conducting of free and fair elections in Nigeria has seemed like a mirage, but cutting-edge digital technologies like biometric voter registration, smart card readers, digitized voter cards, optical mark recognition, electronic result transmission, etc., promise an improved election management system as a precondition for following best practices around the world. This paper briefly examines all the components of Nigeria’s election administration system in the context of digitization and emerging technology. A qualitative research method was adopted i.e. the authors focused heavily on the use of secondary data but also collected primary data to a small extent to validate the available literature in this regard i.e. 150 questionnaires were filled by voters in selected south-western states of the country. The study recommends that people should be more receptive to new technologies and that the Nigerian government should be more open and adaptive to international best practices in election administration by systematically adopting full digitization and technology in this regard.