Security and preservation of election data in Nigeria in the4IR

What is it about?

A fraud-free and credible election is a necessary ingredient to the growth of democracy. Election malpractices and violence, from 1959 till date, have offered major challenges to the Nigerian political system. To achieve a sustainable democracy in Nigeria, it is important to build public trust by ensuring the security and preservation of electoral data. The world has gradually moved into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), an era where artificial intelligence, big data, internet of things, robotics, blockchain, cloud computing and 3-D printing technologies dictate the pace of activities in all walks of life. This paper suggests specific 4IR technologies solutions to electoral data security and preservation challenges. It also suggests that the Nigerian Government announce policies to serve as catalysts for the Independent National Electoral Commission and stakeholders to harness these developments to ensure that electoral processes benefit from these technologies.

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Why is it important?

The authors have shown, citing different studies, that all elections conducted in the fourth republic were marred with electoral malpractices. Although INEC has invested in different technologies in order to improve the credibility of the elections, much more can still be done. Despite the introduction of biometric technology such as Smart Card Reader (SCR), INEC still struggles with voters’ authentication concerns. Hence, INEC and electoral stakeholders need to rethink and consider strategies to align the electoral process with the 4IR implementations. It is our opinion that alignment with the implementation of 4IR would not only help to secure and preserve Nigeria electoral data, but also help INEC to meet the international standard for the provision of viable, successful and generally acceptable electoral process.