Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has said electronic voting will put an end to rigging and violence during elections in Nigeria.
He made this claim while writing for THISDAY, a national newspaper, as a guest columnist on Friday.
In the article entitled, ‘COVID-19, democracy and task of nation building,’ the former president said he is sad that in some places, miscreants are celebrated for the roles they play during elections.
“I am also convinced that electronic voting will eliminate the worrisome issue of massive rigging and violence during elections because it will limit human presence during voting,” he said.
“It will bring an end to incessant deployment of miscreants during elections because there will be no room for ballot box stuffing or snatching. It is sad that in some places, these miscreants are even celebrated, because of the ignoble roles they play during elections.
“I should point out that a society where thugs become role models is doomed to fail.”
According to him, holding elections regularly does not define democracy.
“Holding regular elections alone does not really define democracy or guarantee good governance,” Jonathan said.
“We need to work on how to strengthen the pillars of democracy where they are weak, and enhance political stability across the continent.
“You can always tell how credible, or otherwise, a democratic process has been from the level of protests, violence and the number of post-election litigations. For Africa to make more progress towards building liberal democracies, we should first take deliberate measures to strengthen the independence of the electoral management bodies.”
