KEY POINTS
- Blockchain’s immutability ensures that once a vote is cast, it cannot be altered or deleted.
- The transparency of blockchain allows for real-time auditing of the election process.
- Implementing blockchain in elections can prevent voter fraud by ensuring that only eligible individuals can vote.
Nigeria’s electoral process has long been marred by issues such as voter fraud, result manipulation, and lack of transparency.
Over the past few years, the ability of blockchain to solve these issues has attracted a lot of interest.
However, with the use of decentralization, immutability, and transparency, which are the pillars of the blockchain solution, Nigeria’s election integrity could easily be boosted by technology.
Enhancing transparency and security
Blockchain operates as a decentralized ledger, recording transactions in an immutable and tamper-resistant manner.
When adopted to election, every single vote thus can be safely stored on the blockchain as an unforgeable transaction and once the transaction is done, the result cannot be changed.
This immutability eliminates concerns about fraudulent changes to election results by officials or external actors.
Furthermore, since Blockchain works on the principle of decentralization, the citizens themselves can also monitor the process of an election being conducted in real-time as well.
Preventing voter fraud
Voter fraud, including multiple voting and impersonation, has been a persistent issue in Nigeria’s elections. Blockchain can solve these issues since it will create a secure platform to store and access voting data.
The applied elements of cryptography are used to prevent the actual participants from voting more than once or from those who do not have the right to vote at all.
This level of security is crucial in preventing unauthorized access and maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.
Application of blockchain in Nigeria’s Electoral System
Implementing blockchain in the context of elections also takes utilising smart contracts, which are contracts whose provisions have been directly encoded and therefore are self-executing.
But this kind of automation eliminates chances for interference from different people, which means that the chances of having things manipulated are very low.
Furthermore, the decentralized nature of blockchain keeps none of the stakeholders from controlling the full network so there is little chance for tampering.
However, its implementation would need the effort of several ministries and departments, technology partners, and civil society organizations to work in synergy to produce the right results and reception from the public.
Challenges and considerations
Despite this, there are a few pitfalls, which have to be solved to achieve a successful implementation of the potential benefits.
Included in these are the ability of people to embrace digital practice, infrastructure, and the need for laws regulating blockchain for electoral processes.
Moreover, ensuring the security of the system against cyber threats is paramount. These challenges might be solved with the help of pilot programs and gradual implementation so that occasions for improvements might be identified in practice.
Conclusion
Blockchain technology presents a promising avenue for resolving many of the electoral challenges faced by Nigeria.
As an enabler of a secure, transparent, tamper-resistant voting platform it can help bring improved credibility to the elections and democratic processes..
However, in Nigeria, these opportunities require systematic consideration of infrastructural and education systems’ effectiveness to enhance the practical implementation of the concept.
