2027 Election: Interrogating the Sustainable Values of Automatic Electronic Transmission of Election Results for Nigeria.

By Dr Chris Uwaje

 

Before we delve into the intricate interrogations of Electronic Transmission of Election: First, it is instructive to guide and state that the critical mission of the application of verifiable electronic Software Solutions for the automatic electronic transfer of the National election results in 2027 are conditionally imperatives for the following reasons:

1. The Nigerian nation has passed the Age of counting by her fingers! Indeed a nation that has continuously performed the ubiquitous task of electronic transfer of Data in the financial,  governance, education, healthcare, judicial and other critical sectors of nation-building cannot for whatever purpose now pretend to be an incompetent lame dog in Automating and delivering electronic election results as a fundamental responsibility and functional imperative of government to her people – irrespective of the embedded challenges and consequences.

Indeed, collection and automatic electronic transfer of collated election results is no more a rocket science, but within the threshold of digital Kindergarten in a world governed by human minds at the speed of Quantum Computing.

The critical function of attaining the set objectives for Nigeria is not the knowhow competence but the ability to generate real-time electricity power energy to facilitate and guarantee an uninterrupted electronic transmission of election results from the primary units to the central Server.

This submission is however contingent on the assurances of certified functionalities of the Software at the Operating system and end-to-end Application utility

levels – ensuring that security is prioritised and that there is no room for Backdoors.

2. Simply defined electronic transfer of Data in the digital format simply involve using verifiable technologies to gather and transmit voting results from polling stations or collating centers to a central location, such as the national electoral commission. This process can be done through various trusted means, including:

2.1. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs): With the ability to generate and deliver verifiable electronic data has been deployed and tested in many parts of the world with satisfactory results.

2.2 EVMs can transmit results directly to the central server using cellular networks or internet connectivity.

3. Results Management Systems: Tested, verifiable and available information that Polling station staff can use electronic devices to capture Voters data, collate and enter results into a digital system, which can then be transmitted to the central server.
4. Online Platforms: Election officials can also upload scanned or digital copies of results forms to a secure online platform.
5. Trusted Results-Based Model:

Trusted results-oriented model for electronic transmission of election results could involve the following steps:

5.1. Data Collection: Polling station staff collect and enter results into a digital system or EVM.

5.2. Data Transmission: Results are then electronically transmitted to a central server using secure and reliable communication channels.

6. Data Processing: The central server receives the data and information transmitted from the EVM , and processes and tabulates the results in real-time.
7. Results Publication: Results are published on the electoral commission’s website and other official channels. The main benefits of electronic data transmission of election results to a nation are many. But the most essentials values include:

7.1. Increased Transparency Electronic transmission of results can increase transparency and reduce the risk of tampering or manipulation.

7.2. Verifiable Accuracy: Electronic systems can reduce errors and improve the accuracy of results.

7.3. Speed of Delivery. of Results: Electronic transmission can significantly reduce the time it takes to declare election results and avoid national crisis.

7.4. Delivers Enhanced Security: Electronic systems can provide an additional layer of security and integrity to the electoral process.

7.5. Machine Efficiency: Electronic transmission can reduce the need for manual data entry processing, freeing up resources for other critical tasks.

7.6. Builds Enhanced National Trust.

The ability to build Improved Public Trust is fundamentally necessary. And this can be achieved by providing real-time results and increasing transparency. This way, electronic transmission of election results can help build public trust in the electoral process.

Finally, the difference between the Manual processing of large scale election data in a nation with a huge population such as Nigeria  – manually or by digital transformation  is like that of Night and  Day.

 

Dr. Chris Uwaje, is the Chairman, Mobile Software Nigeria.