An analysis of the imperatives of integrated database system in the conduct of election in Nigeria: A focus on the 2023 General Election
Thesis
Elections are the cornerstone of democratic governance, serving as a platform for citizens to choose leaders who would represent their interests and formulate policies that foster national development. However, in Nigeria, electoral processes have historically been fraught by electoral infractions such as voter disenfranchisement, logistical inefficiencies and large-scale electoral fraud. This state of affairs had resulted in institutional, procedural and logistics reforms to reposition the process and engender credibility. The study examined the role of integrated database system in the electoral management; analyzed the status of electoral database management system in Nigeria, and investigated the prospects of integrated database management system on Nigeria’s electoral management. Several election technology has been introduced into the electoral process such as biometric verification, BiVAS etc, however this study is imperative as it would eliminate electoral database fraud, enhance credibility and foster public trust on the Electoral Management Body (EMB). The study adopted the mixed research design which is an interplay of quantitative and qualitative methods. Data was sourced from primary source (questionnaire and key informant interview) and blended with data from secondary sources (journals, books, articles and reports, etc.). Statistical frequency tables were used for the analysis of quantitative data while thematic approach was deployed in the analysis of qualitative data. The study arrived at Three Hundred and Ninety (390) as the sample size for quantitative study by deploying the Slovin’s formula. And purposive sampling was adopted to arrive at Fifteen (15) KII informants. For the first objective, the study found that the integrated database system plays a major role in the management of elections in Nigeria as the integration of data will streamline the database system, ensure seamless sharing of data among data users, ensure proper planning of elections and enhance the integrity and efficiency of the electoral process. On the second objective, the study revealed that the current electoral database system has improved compared to its previous state, but further enhancements are necessary. For the third objective, the study found that an integrated database system in the electoral management holds enormous prospects to ensure seamless operation of the electoral process, enhance the integrity of the Election Management System and the effectiveness of the database system and engender a credible electoral process and outcomes in Nigeria. The study recommends for objective one (1) that the Federal Government should unbundle INEC and established an independent body, send on executive bill to the National Assembly or a legislator should sponsor a bill to integrate our electoral database before the 2027 general election. For objective two (2) the study recommends more inter-agency collaboration for data harmonization, improved funding for database administration, implementing a distributed data architecture for voter registration and management ensuring secure, multi-site storage access, etc. For objective three (3), the study recommends, among others proper training and retraining of agencies involved in data collection on modern technological infrastructure such as cloud infrastructure, cyber security, etc. The study concludes that the integrated database system holds a great promise for entrenched electoral credibility and improved public trust.