ELECTORAL TECHNOLOGY AND CREDIBLE ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF THE 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Abstract

The use of technology in the conduct of elections has stirred heated debate from scholars, policy makers and the public in Africa. Unlike other parts of the world where the adoption of technology remains a cornerstone for credibility, integrity, trust, transparency and fairness; in Africa and Nigeria, the use of technology has raised concerns and distrust for the electoral system. The inability of electoral technologies to improve the outcomes of elections and consequently facilitate democratic trust has raised a lot of questions such as: Is Africa and Nigeria ripe for electoral technology? What are the factors affecting the use of electoral technology in Africa and Nigeria in achieving credible elections? Does Africa or Nigeria lack the capacity to conduct credible elections despite the potential that electoral technology offers? The existing literature show that scholars are both hopeful and sceptical about electoral technology in the continent as shown in reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya and recently Nigeria. This paper used the recently concluded 2023 presidential elections in Nigeria and seek to provide both theoretical and empirical answers to these questions and data was collected from qualitative sources; the paper argued that while election technology offers the country avenues to block the loopholes that negate credible elections in the country, the culture of impunity, trust deficient in country’s electoral system are drawbacks to the effectiveness of technology on elections in Nigeria as shown in the 2023 presidential elections.