CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Free, fair and reliable elections are fundamental to electoral democracy and offer important means of equipping people to hold their leaders responsible. In a multi-party democracy, it befits both the elected and appointed government authorities whatsoever degrees of the political system to render regular account of their stewardship to the people. Nevertheless, responsibility of public authorities in Nigeria has been undermined by the fact that elections in the nation are perennially fraught with abnormalities. The democratization of politics has not been successful in arresting electoral frauds perpetrated by various political parties and megalomaniac political leaders. It has likewise been incapable to deal with the administrative misbehavior of officials of Nigeria's Election Management Body (EMB) ― the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The breakdown of the First and Second Republics, and the abortion of the Third Republic with the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election are clear signs of the failure of previous attempts to democratize elections in Nigeria.
Elections are essential aspects of contemporary representative government. They typify the democratic process; thus, the abolition of elections is frequently translated as the abolition of democracy. Inning accordance with Nnoli (2003), elections are so plainly connected to the development and growth of representative democratic government that they are now typically held to be the single essential sign of the presence or lack of such government. They are meaningfully democratic if they are free, fair, participatory, reliable, competitive and legitimate. Elections are, for that reason, adjudged to have met these requirements: when they are administered by a neutral authority; when the electoral administration is adequately competent and resourceful to take particular safety measures against fraud; when the police, military and courts treat competing candidates and parties impartially; when challengers all have access to the public media; when electoral districts and rules do not grossly handicap the opposition; . . . when the secret of the ballot is protected; when practically all adults can vote; when procedures for organizing and counting the votes are commonly known; when there are transparent and impartial procedures for resolving election complaints and conflicts (Ruby, 2008).
Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) embraced the voter accreditation technology as a way of getting rid of the difficulties of electoral malpractice. Voter accreditation technology systems guarantee confidentiality and ensure the accessibility of an individual's data and details via identification and verification processes. Verification is one to one security procedures targeted at affirming if the identity of a user belongs to him (Corstange, D., 2012). In the voting context, it aids to attest that voters that came out to vote on election day are the real eligible voters that registered previously the voting day. On the other hand, identification is just one of the security procedures utilized to validate the identity of an individual amongst lots of various other people. In the voting context, voters' verification aids to confirm if voters that presented themselves on election day are registered voters among other registered voters. These two procedures are really germane to the credibility of an electoral procedure and the ultimate outcome that occurs from the procedure. Nevertheless, in spite of the confidence of INEC in using card reader in the 2015 general elections, the devices came with some difficulties, although the elections was commonly adjudged as being successful (Eguavoen, A.A., 2009).
After the introduction of the voter accreditation technology for the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, researchers examined the results of the election. They explained some favorable outcomes accomplished by the adoption of this technology for the procedure. For instance, Uzodike and Onapajo (2017) disclosed that along with the transparency it added, the 2015 Nigerian elections were likewise fair and credible and served to improve democracy and democratic values in the nation. The authors recognized that the technological actions embraced likewise made accreditation more transparent and much less difficult, and offered back-up information that might be utilized for legal purposes in case need arises for such procedures. Bayode (2017), who concentrated on using voter accreditation technology to avoid electoral fraud, evaluated the digital identity in protecting the electronic voter accreditation system in regards to fraud prevention, concluding that the technology provided possibly the very best solution in shaping up the electoral arena in Nigeria.
The major issues that defined the use of single bimodal systems can be overcome by utilizing bimodal bimodal systems. A bimodal bimodal system is really dependable because of the existence of several and independent pieces of evidence that can be utilized to distinguish voters. It utilizes more than one bimodal systems to capture human features and behaviours. The combination of two or more bimodal system help in meeting the extensive performance requirements of bimodals. Bimodal aids to satisfy the serious performance requirements imposed by various applications and makes it more acceptable and credible by voters (Klugler D., 2005). However, this study is aimed at determining the role of bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) on election credibility by using 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election as a case study.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Electoral fraud has been discovered to deteriorate the electoral procedure and decrease voters' confidence in election management bodies worldwide (Daxecker, Di Salvatore, & Ruggeri, 2019). Manually carrying out voter accreditation in Nigeria has brought about social problems such as electoral fraud and violence (Addo, 2017). Deployment of voter accreditation technology by the INEC in Nigeria throughout the 2015 general elections reduced electoral fraud (Bayode, 2017). A study carried out in 2016 revealed that at the very least 60% of the participants interviewed concurred that the introduction of voter accreditation technology by the INEC in Nigeria to verify voters' identity and to authenticate their bimodals during 2015 general elections improved the credibility of the polls (Ayodele, 2016). The use of voter accreditation technology during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria assisted in exposing fake voters and reducing multiple voting, causing a dramatic reduction in the number of voters from 39,469,484 throughout the 2011 general elections to 29,432,083 during the 2015 general elections (Olurode, 2017). Adoption of voter accreditation technology during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria likewise decreased electoral frauds such as stuffing of the ballot box with ballot papers and multiple voting. These benefits emphasize why examining how to sustain such technology is essential. Without the sustainability of voter accreditation technology for future elections, the credibility and integrity of the electoral procedure will be retarded, as a result impairing democracy (Shuaibu et al., 2017).
The general issue for this study is that not using voter accreditation technology to support the 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election process in the State might have resulted in doubtful credibility of the electoral process, therefore marring or jeopardizing democracy. The specific management problem is that researchers do not know if a relationship exists between technological, organizational, and economic factors and the sustainability of voter accreditation technology. This is why this study seeks to examine the role of bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) on election credibility by using 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election as a case study.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine the role of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) on election credibility by using 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election as a case study. However the specific objectives are:
i. To understand the extent to which Bimodal Voter Accreditation System enhance credible election in 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election.
ii. To determine the reliability of bimodal Voter Accreditation System during 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election process.
iii. To understand how to sustain Accreditation Technology in the future elections in Nigeria
iv. To highlight the challenges that may come as a result of the adoption of bimodal Voter Accreditation System in the future elections in Nigeria.
1.4 Research Questions
The following statements were considered as the research questions for this study:
i. To what extent in which bimodal Voter Accreditation System enhance credible election in 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election?
ii. How reliable is bimodal Voter Accreditation System during 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election process?
iii. How can Accreditation Technology be sustained in the future elections in Nigeria?
iv. What are the challenges that may come as a result of the adoption of bimodal Voter Accreditation System in the future elections in Nigeria?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following statements were considered to be the research hypotheses
i. There is a significant correlation between bimodal Voter Accreditation System and 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election credibility.
ii. There is no significant correlation between bimodal Voter Accreditation System and 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election reliability.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study is significant in a number of ways as it will help to fill the gap in understanding, focusing specifically on the relationship between technological, organizational, and economic factors, and the sustainability of voter accreditation technology.
It will also help in understanding the nature of the relationship between technological, organizational, and economic factors, and the sustainability of voter accreditation technology in Anambra and in Nigeria as a whole. The result of the study will support the management of the INEC in Nigeria to understand how best to ensure that the voter accreditation technology is maintained and improved to guarantee successful elections in the future.
In addition, sustaining the voter accreditation technology will help to contribute towards an improved, positive political culture in Nigeria, as well as increased public confidence in the electoral processes and electoral management body. As a result of the transparency and traceability feature the voter accreditation technology brings to the electoral process, issues of electoral fraud that promotes violence will be reduced, thereby fostering a positive social change.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study is designed to examine the role of bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) on election credibility by using 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial election as a case study. Therefore, the study will be limited to the just concluded gubernatorial election in Anambra State in November 6, 2021.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
Although, the adoption of voter accreditation technology may vary from one country to the other. However, this study only focused on INEC and information technology professionals across Nigeria who takes part in decision making to adopt new technologies and innovations. Therefore, the results of this study may apply to Nigeria and possibly other countries with similar electoral challenges. It is not guaranteed that the result of this study may be applicable across all other countries that have adopted or intend to adopt voter accreditation technology.
The variables in the study were only measured but not manipulated, and the study did not in any way go beyond defining the correlation between research variables because correlational designs do not classify reasons for behaviors (Burkholder et al., 2016).
1.9 Definition of Terms
The following terms were used in the process of carrying out this research study:
Accreditation: is the action or process of officially recognizing someone as having a particular status or being qualified to perform a particular activity particularly to vote in elections.
BVAS: bimodal Voter Accreditation System is an electronic machine that is used for accrediting voters during election to determine if they are eligible to vote and if they are the rightful owners of their voter’s cards.
Gubernatorial Election: is an election process in which people vote to choose the governor and deputy governor of their states.
INEC: Independent National Electoral Commission. It is responsible for conducting election activities in Nigeria.
