Nwafor-Orizu Advocates EVM Use for Nigeria Elections

Nwafor-Orizu, a senior lawyer and chairman of the Pro Democracy Organization, emphasized the necessity of implementing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Nigeria's future elections to address flaws in the current electoral system, which is prone to manipulation and lacks transparency. He outlined that EVMs would provide security, transparency, and efficiency in voting, thereby reducing the risk of electoral fraud and increasing voter confidence.

Nwafor-Orizu explained that EVMs operate on a touch system that records votes directly to a server, eliminating the need for manual collation and reducing tampering risks. He referenced successful EVM implementations in countries like India, Namibia, and the United States.

Concerns regarding technical glitches were acknowledged, but he stressed that proper implementation and testing could address these issues. Nwafor-Orizu called for the Senate to pass legislation enabling the use of EVMs and for INEC to lead the implementation with stakeholder support.

He projected a phased approach for EVM rollout over 2-3 years, emphasizing the long-term benefits outweighing costs.