Election Administration in Nigeria: Interrogating Independent National Electoral Commission Transition Efforts from Manual to Electronic Voting

Abstract

The thrust of this paper is the transitional process from paper ballot to electronic voting in the management of Nigeria elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Managing election in Nigeria has been faced with a hurricane of interests from politicians, electoral commission and also the public. This paper has attempted to take a theoretical discourse on why the transition process in adopting full electronic voting in Nigeria has been node-diving. This paper addressed the problem of credibility by officials of the INEC in declaring election results and will also examine the level of acceptance of the technology or Model initiated by INEC in the conduct of elections. The paper utilized secondary sources of data collection. The Technology innovation theory was used to explain the concept of transition. We further recommend that Paper-trail backup must accompany Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in the conduct of elections; Government should ensure various institutions responsible for the success of EVM is properly funded; Governments and electoral management bodies in developing nations should improve computer literacy rate among citizens due to technophobia that exists within them. We further concluded that Nigeria as a country should ensure that movement through its transition process in the quest for credibility and transparency in the conduct of elections should be a creeping approach rather than a forceful one.

Key Words: Independent Electoral Commission, manual voting, electronic voting machine, Technology innovation theory