INEC: Voter Apathy Cannot Be Solved By Technology Alone

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that in spite of the various technological innovations introduced to improve the country’s electoral process, the 27 per cent voter turnout recorded in the 2023 elections has shown that voter apathy cannot be solved by technology alone.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the annual National Stakeholders’ Forum on Elections organised by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room with the theme, ‘Securing Nigeria’s Democracy: Building Consensus for Credible Elections and Accountable Governance.’

He noted that even with technology, they must collectively confront the persistent low turnout that threatens the very legitimacy of the country’s democracy.

He lamented that the country’s democracy was constantly battling, among others, the corrosive effect of misinformation, electoral malpractice such as rigging and vote-buying, as well as violence.

Amupitan noted that the act of securing the country’s democracy thus requires a proactive, multi-sectoral approach.

He added that the concept of building consensus for credible elections is vital to the discourse in that credible elections are the undisputed, non-negotiable foundation of democracy.

According to him, “However, credibility is a public trust built only when all stakeholders (political parties, the media, security agencies, civil society and INEC) agree on, and abide by, the electoral rules and principles.”

The INEC chairman stressed that when citizens believe their votes count, they empower themselves to hold their leaders to the highest standards.

Amupitan stated: “At the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), our strategic response to the imperative of credibility has been the systemic infusion of technology, legally backed by the Electoral Act 2022, into our electoral system.

“The deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has fundamentally redefined the process. It ensured that only genuinely accredited voters could cast their ballot, closing the door on over-voting and manual manipulation.

“Also, the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal has opened the electoral process to the world, making results available for public scrutiny on election day.  This transparency is the new baseline for trust in our process.

“However, technology is not a panacea. The nation’s telecommunications network remains a formidable obstacle. With over 176,000 polling units, some of which are in remote areas, achieving real-time upload of all results to the IReV remains one of our toughest operational battles.

“As I have stated before, a tool like the BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on. We are, therefore, committed to continuous engagement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and network providers while actively exploring alternative technologies and building system redundancy to bridge these gaps.

“Even with technology, we must collectively confront the persistent low turnout that threatens the very legitimacy of our democracy.

“The 2023 general election recorded a turnout of just over 27 per cent, a stark reminder that apathy cannot be solved by technology alone.

“Our recent successes in mobilisation, like the one witnessed in Anambra State, provide a vital roadmap in this regard. Following the conclusion of the database clean-up, the final register for that election stood at 2,802,790 voters. Note that only 63.9 per cent of Anambra voters had initially collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).”

The chairman emphasised that by proactively extending the PVC collection period across all 326 registration areas in the state, the commission drove the percentage of collected PVCs to an impressive 98.80 per cent of registered voters before the election day.

“This result demonstrates what is possible if more voters are actively mobilised to register and also collect their PVCs. This is where the consensus and partnership with civil society organisations, community leaders, and the media, among other key stakeholders, is indispensable,” he said.

Amupitan stressed that to secure democracy, technological integrity must be matched by political accountability.

He said the commission recognised that vote-buying and financial inducement derail the will of the people.

To combat this, the chairman stressed that the commission has intensified its collaboration with law enforcement agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

He noted that the strategic deployment of security personnel and covert intelligence operations at election centres is designed to protect voters from intimidation and resist inducement.

Amupitan further said that building consensus for credible elections is not a destination; it is a continuous journey of innovation, transparency and resilience.

He noted that the commission’s vision moving forward is to strengthen collaboration to mitigate connectivity challenges, simplify user interfaces to minimise human error and harness the power of emerging technologies to ensure equitable voter access.