Against the backdrop of election malpractices recorded across the African continent, the former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, has identified electronic voting as the best way to ensure credible elections in the country and other parts of Africa.
Jonathan disclosed this while speaking on the presidential panel of The Osasu Show Symposium 2020.
“To me, if Africa especially will move forward, it is not just about routine conduct of elections. This year alone in West Africa made up of 15 states, we have five states that had elections,” he said. “So, in terms of regular elections, we are progressing, but are these elections credible? Whether or not they are representing a constitutional democratic setting is the issue.”
The former leader, who currently serves as a member of the UN special envoy on crisis management, was lauded for stepping away from power peacefully in 2015 after losing to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. Calling for true democracy which can only be achieved when votes count, Jonathan, according to the Vanguard, further explained that: “Regular elections, fine, but elections per se is not democracy. If the votes of the citizens don’t count, then it is as good as a military dictatorship. So, for me, the reforms should first make votes count.”
“And taking a critical examination at the way elections are conducted across the continent at least from the ones I’ve observed, I’ve seen that the only way that we can get there is through electronic voting,” he said.
Jonathan, however, admitted to susceptibility of electronic voting to hacking among other glitches.
“People may feel, yes, someone could manipulate the system, get smart boys who can hack into the system and do all kinds of things, yes, but still people use electronic system to move hundreds of millions of dollars across the world. So, I still believe very sincerely that that is the way to go,” he said during the presidential panel session at the event.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral reform in the country ahead of the next Nigerian general elections in 2023.
