Voters’ Perception of the Adequacy and Suitability of e-Voting in the Nigeria Polity

Abstract

This chapter examines the perception of academics regarding the suitability and adequacy of e-Voting in the Nigeria polity. A qualitative approach using interviews as the data collection instruments was employed. Five research questions were developed and used in the interviews. The population of the study comprised academic staff in the South West Nigerian universities. From this population, 250 academic staff were purposely selected from five universities. This represents the sample for the study. Five research questions were developed and used in the interviews. The results demonstrated that Nigerians are aware of e-Voting systems, the advantages of e-Voting revealed include ease of voting, ease of counting, electoral vote fraud prevention, and cost reduction, To a great extent, Nigeria is e-Voting ready, and the e-Voting system is relevant to the Nigeria electoral system. Respondents find electronic voting desirable in Nigeria given reasons such as saving time/cost, queuing reduction, and Nigeria being technologically advanced enough to carry out a fast voting process. Hindrances to e-Voting and recommendations for the effective adoption of e-Voting in the Nigeria polity were highlighted.