“If votes of citizens don’t count, we’re in a military dictatorship” – Jonathan

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Former President Goodluck Jonathan says electronic voting remained the best way to ensure credible polls in Nigeria and Africa.

He stated this Thursday on the presidential panel of The Osasu Show Symposium 2020.

Jonathan expressed concern that more election matters were being decided by the courts rather than the ballot box.

The former president noted that while more countries in West Africa have conducted regular elections in the recent past, the credibility of such polls have continued to be in doubt.

He explained that electronic voting would eliminate many of the conditions that make election rigging possible.

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“To me, if Africa especially will move forward, it is not just be about routine conducts of elections. This year alone in West Africa made up of 15 states, we have five states that had elections.

“So, in terms of regular elections, we are progressing, but are these elections credible? If they are representing a constitutional democratic setting is the issue.

“Regular elections, fine, but elections per se is not democracy. If the votes of the citizens don’t count, then it is as good as a military dictatorship. So for me, the reforms should first make votes count.

“And taking a critical examination at the way elections are conducted across the continent at least from the once I’ve observed, I’ve seen that the only way that we can get there is through electronic voting.

“People may feel, yes,  someone could manipulate the system, get smart boys who can hack into the system and do all kinds of things, yes, but still people use electronic system to move hundreds of millions of dollars across the world. So, I still believe very sincerely that that is the way to go,” Jonathan said.

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