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Governor Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna state has affirmed faith in electronic voting (eVoting) as the state, for the second time, deployed Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) to conduct its local government election that held over the weekend (Saturday).
The state pioneered the use of EVM in Nigeria in 2018 for the same local government election to set a precedence on the continent only after Kenya. At the national level, there is still a debate in Nigeria over the workability of eVoting.
Government needs to allay fears about electronic voting. Electronic and physical processes can run side by side as there is no complete guaranty against hacking, the governor told Channel TV today as guest of its Sunrise programme.
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He said the use of technology in election cannot be downplayed and remains critical to promoting election integrity and boosting voter’s confidence.
“People are just concerned about transmission of results which is just one aspect,” said the governor while insisting that it was impossible to alter the election results across all critical components of eVoting.
In 2018, the state reworked its electoral laws, Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission Law No. 10 of 2012 and other Matters Ancillary into the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018 to allow for electronic voting in the state.
Under Section 16 (3) of the state law, “the State Independent Electoral Commission shall have the power to determine the method by which voters may be verified and accredited for the purpose of casting their votes.”
It states that: “Such verification and voting shall be through the use of approved electronic devices, smart card reader and electronic voting machine.”
The election results for the 19 local governments are still coming in. But so far, the All-Progressives Congress (APC) has won in 15 local governments while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has won in only one.
