Attahiru Jega Says Nigeria Is Not Ready For Electronic Voting

Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega has faulted the exclusion of electronic transfer of results in the Electoral Amendment Act (2010).

Jega who commended the National Assembly for taking steps to review the Electoral Amendment Act (2010) in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, however stated that the decision of the 9th Assembly to allow INEC use electronic voting without the electronic transmission of results is counterproductive.

He said;

“You can’t permit INEC on one hand to use electronic voting and not use electronic transmission of results because usually, they go as a package.

“Once there is a robust software and hardware for doing so, it now brings efficiency, transparency and real time ability to see the result as they are transmitted from the polling unit to a National Collation Centre.”

When asked if politicians feel uncomfortable over the electronic transmission of results, Jega replied in the affirmative but added that “not all politicians are fraudulent and want to win by hook or by crook.”

He also urged the National Assembly to diligently work to ensure that the Electoral Amendment Bill (2021) is appropriately amended before being passed.

The former INEC Chairman said;

“I will urge that we make haste slowly. There is no doubt that if electronic voting is done appropriately, it will go a long way in improving the integrity of our elections.

“There are so many challenges in our country. For one to be able to do effective, thorough electronic voting, you need the infrastructure, software and associated support infrastructure. For example, stability of electricity, extensive network coverage and robust internet facilities.”

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