One of the ways to determine how democratic and transparent a government is can be seen in her electoral processes which election and voting is an integral part. But before we delve into the case study fully, there's need that we give a clear discuss on the key words "election and voting" respectively .
What does the word election represent?
Election is the process of choosing someone through voting into a particular office. It is the act of choosing a leader to represent the people through popular vote. Elections occur at different periods and levels especially for political offices. Using Nigeria as an example, elections into various government offices and positions occur every four years. These government positions and offices includes:
a. Presidency
b. Governorship
c. Members of House of Assembly
d. Local Government Chairmen
e. Councillors
More so, elections can be in the following forms:
a. Direct
b. Indirect
c. Bye-Election
d. Primary Election
e. Run-Off election
f. Referendum
g. Plebiscite
Voting on the other hand entails the activity of choosing someone in an election. Voting is when people father together to choose among various candidates into a government. To vote therefore, is to make a choice of one's preferred candidate among others.
Voting can be in two forms. It can be a secret balloting which is when people who are referred officially as the voters choose their preferred candidates secretly without any one's interference or public voting system which is allowing the people choose their preferred candidate openly.
THE BVAS VOTING SYSTEM
What is a Voting System?
The voting system is a set of rules,regulations,procedures etc about the way people vote and how the votes are counted. Different countries adopts a voting system which they considered best.
BVAS is an acronym which stands for Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
It is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards and ensures voters eligibility by the use of their finger prints.
The use of this innovation entails either of the following:
i. Scanning the barcode/QR on the voter's card or,
ii. Entering the last six digits of the voter's identify number (VIN).
By February 2023, one of the world's biggest and Africa's biggest election will hold in Nigeria. And this will be the seventh (7th) successive general election under an unbroken and uninterrupted twenty-three (23) years of democratic government. With millions of voters added to the voter's register in all the polling units across the 774 local governments of the federation.
The election is conducted against the backdrop of a be electoral law and innovation introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enhance and ensure electoral integrity and also to inspire popular confidence in the country's electoral process.
The BVAS is a technological innovation highly rated and celebrated for enhancing and ensuring the transparency and authenticity of election results and enhancing public trust in the electoral outcomes and processes.
The Electoral Commission(INEC) inputs that the BVAS technology will addressing and settling most permeating unwelcome physical effects in Nigeria's election result management which includes the following:
a. Falsification of votes at the polling units.
b. Falsification of number of accredited voters
c. Collation of false results
d. Mutilation of result and computerised errors
e. Swapping of result sheets
f. Forging of results sheets
g. Snatching and destruction of results sheets
h. Obtaining, declaring and return involuntarily
i. Making declaration and return while results collation is still in progress
j. Poor record keeping
Aside the above mentioned points, the introduction of BVAS is an anathema to political actors determined to subvert the people's will at all cost. It is, therefore not surprising to learn off the plans to torpedo the Electoral Commission (INEC) plans to safeguard the integrity of the election using the BVAS.
Across the world, the introduction of electoral technologies has attracted contestations and controversies driven mainly by its propensity to enhance election credibility and undermine popular trust in election. In as much as the BVAS poised many forms of position p, it has still faced some failures.
Firstly when BVAS was deployed for the first time in Isoko South Constituency 1 Bye-Election in Delta State in the 10th of September,2021, some presiding officers complained that the machine had difficulties in capturing thumbs and faces of the some of the voter's especially the aged.
But INEC dismissed their fears saying the machine had been tested and proved by its IT experts to have the capacity of performing optimally during the polls.
Despite the assurance, there were hitches during the Anambra governorship election as a result of BVAS malfunction.
Also, during the FCT Area Council election of February 12, 2022, there were lots of challenges evidenced in reports by voters and observers groups.
The BVAS has been touted as an unbreakable system that prevent any form of electoral malpractice.
However, like every other technology out there, the BVAS is not without its loopholes which are associated with the voting system can affect the capability of an election.
In conclusion, be it as may, in elections, perceptions is everything. Introducing the BVAS into the framework for election results management has transformed the public perception of the accuracy and credibility of election results.
The system of using the BVAS for the conduct of elections has come to stay and there's no going back.
In 2023, Nigerians want to go to polls with the assurance that the BVAS will protect their vote. I strongly believe it will.
Article written by KALU NKEMAKOLAM DAVID.
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