Smart Card Reader and Domocratic Consolidation A Study of 2015 General Election in Nigeria

Abstract

This study interrogated Smart Card Reader and the consolidation of Democracy: A study of 2015 General Election in Nigeria. This study was provoked by the need to evaluate the efficacy of the smart card reader introduced by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2015 general election in Nigeria. The introduction of smart card reader into Nigeria elections has sparked off controversial debates among scholars as well as policy makers and other stakeholders in the electoral process in Nigeria. The study basically made use of secondary data.  The theoretical framework that anchored the study is cybernetic theory. The researcher made the following findings: The use of card reader enhanced the transparency and credibility of the 2015 election results in Nigeria. The use of card reader reduced electoral violence in Nigeria. The use of card reader promoted electoral tolerance among politicians in Nigeria. The researcher made the following recommendations ,that smart card reader should be test runned properly before using it in future elections,  INEC should train people who can handle the card reader effectively, INEC should conduct research to know countries that have tried the use of smart reader and determine the level of success or failure, If INEC must continue with card reader in future elections, there must be improvement that will convince Nigerians that it will work effectively, INEC should embark on sensitization of voters before using the card reader again, Subsequent general elections in Nigeria should gradually continue to be technologically driven.