Former President Goodluck Jonathan has attributed Nigeria’s voter turnout issues to the presence of numerous “ghost voters” on the electoral register, rather than actual voter apathy.
Speaking on Tuesday, February 25, at the YIAGA Africa reflection conference on democratic elections in West Africa, held in Abuja, Jonathan highlighted the ongoing challenges facing electoral processes in the region despite technological advancements.
He acknowledged that while West Africa has made progress in democratic governance, issues such as logistical failures, technical glitches, and allegations of electoral irregularities persist.
Referring to Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, which introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, Jonathan pointed out that even with these innovations, concerns over credibility remained.
He contrasted this with Ghana’s elections, which he described as largely successful despite minimal reliance on technology.
“The electoral commission of Ghana and security authorities played a crucial role in ensuring the elections were free and fair. This shows that Ghana’s democratic processes remain resilient even with limited technology,” Jonathan said.
He noted that Liberia and Senegal also conducted elections with limited technology but still recorded high voter turnout and peaceful transitions.
Meanwhile, in countries with advanced electoral technology, there was a trend of increased legal disputes and political tensions.
Jonathan stressed the importance of human factors in electoral credibility, recalling Nigeria’s transition from a manual voter register to the introduction of the card reader and, later, BVAS.
However, he expressed concern that technological progress had not necessarily translated into improved electoral outcomes.
“We have moved beyond the card reader to BVAS, which is expected to be more advanced. Yet, the challenges we face now are greater than when we used the card reader,” he observed.
He also underscored the need for electoral commissions to be led by credible individuals.
“If we don’t have people of integrity leading electoral commissions, then we are in trouble. Anyone taking up such roles must be ready to resist pressure to compromise the system,” he stated.
On the issue of voter registration, Jonathan raised concerns about the authenticity of Nigeria’s electoral roll.
“We have too many ghost voters. When both parties are strong and manipulation is difficult, only real human beings will vote, and the turnout will drop to about 50 percent,” he said.