RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELECTRONIC CARD READER AND ELECTION CREDIBILITY IN NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Election is the process of choosing a candidate for public office. Election is a critical component of any democratic society. As such, Nigeria’s returned to democratic rule and engagement with the democratic process led to the conduct of its general elections in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 General elections are elections conducted in the federation at large for federal and state elective positions (The Electoral Institute, 2019).
The 2019 presidential election appears to be the most keenly contested in the history of elections in Nigeria because it was the second time the ruling part, All Progressive Congress (APC) in order to challenge the dominance of the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the polity. Indeed, according to Omotola (2013), the election became the only game in town, shaping and reshaping public discourse and political actions.
The use of electronic card readers at the 2019 general election in Nigeria has infused some level of transparency and credibility into Nigeria’s electoral process (Okonji, 2019). It was observed that when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced its plan to used electronic card reader machine for the February and March 2019 general elections, many Nigerians, especially politicians, vehemently opposed to it. They felt the country has not developed to a level where such technology can be employed for elections and what happened during 2015 elections should not itself again. Besides, they felt the uses of electronic card reader would disrupt the entire electoral processes.
The public outcry that greeted the planned to adopt electronic card reader machines again was enough to discourage INEC from using it. However, because of   INEC confidence in the efficacy of modern technologies in achieving quick results, coupled with its vision to transform the country’s electoral process from its old norms that was characterized by ballot box snatching and multiplicity of ballot tomb-printing, INEC went ahead and used the technology against all odds (Vanguard, 2019). However, many technology experts in Nigeria and outside, who monitored the elections are full of praises for INEC for insisting on the use of electronic card reader machines, saying it is the best thing that has ever happened to the Nigerian electoral process in the area of election transparency. They have called on the electoral umpire to introduce electronic card reader machines in subsequent elections, believing it is a sure way to achieve transparency and credibility in every election.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELECTRONIC CARD READER AND ELECTION CREDIBILITY IN NIGERIA
