TECHNOLOGY BASED DEVICE AND ELECTORAL PROCESS IN NIGERIA

Oyinlola Abodunrin, Gbolahan Oloye, Abdulhameed Alaba

Abstract


The use of technology is the most appreciable and the real issue in the 2015 general election in Nigeria’s democratic system. The main reason for the use of the technological based device for the conduct of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission was to check electoral fraud. The smart card reader had played a very significant role in the 2015 general elections in Nigeria. This paper therefore examines the impact of technology in improving the credibility of 2015 general election in Nigeria. Cybernetic model of communication theory was adopted for the study. The objectives of the study was to examine the impact of technology on the 2015 general election and to have a critical look into the use of smart card reader and to identify some of the challenges recorded during the exercise. Data were gathered from secondary sources and analyzed. The study finds that the use of technological based device has helped in reducing electoral fraud in the electoral process in Nigeria. However, there is need to ensure that the issues and challenges which confronted the use of the device during the elections do not reoccur in future elections.

Keywords


Technology, Election, Democratic System, Electoral Fraud, Smart Card Reader, Cybernetics

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References


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