 Bevers election management and black holes. On the 25th of February 2023, Nigeria had its seventh in the series of presidential elections since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999. Even before the Fourth Republic, elections in Nigeria have been a matter of great contention with allegations of rigging of results and other forms of electoral mass practice often leading to violence. On the 25th of February 2023, Nigeria had its seventh in the series of presidential elections since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999. Even before the Fourth Republic, elections in Nigeria have been a matter of great contention with allegations of rigging of results and other forms of electoral mass practice often leading to violence. On the 25th of February 2023, Nigeria had its seventh in the series of presidential elections since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999. The last of which was election of Oshun state, which at the time of the February 25 election was still the subject of litigation. The presidential elections of February 25 also now is the subject of litigation upon which significant issues to be decided in the Oshun case will impact. Such as what the status of Beaver's machine is in the law of evidence. What is clear in all this is that Beaver's technology, which was deployed to solve the problem of rigging, is creating new problems relating to the sanctity of information stored in the machine for the purposes of legal audit. This is aside the fact that nothing is known of whether or how INEC has been updating the software used in these machines to deliver necessary to prevent hacking. Even INEC has confessed to having experienced bleaches in the management of the system. We know of course that in order to avoid the black hole to which the use of technology can descend, many of the nations which pioneered its use for elections have moved away from it. But this is far from the only black hole that threatens election management in Nigeria today. We now know that out of the projected population of 200 billion or more, only 9 million voted for the declared winner. We have about 93 million registered voters and about 87 million are reported to have collected their voters card. Yet only 24.9 million actually voted. It is a pretently false argument to attribute this that makes us about the lowest ranking African nation in voter turnout, merely to crash crunch due to the disastrous implementation of the Naira redesign policy. Because year after year, election after election, our voter turnout figures have gone down. As if our people have been disappearing in plain sight into black holes. Clearly there is a cause for concern in all this. Deployment of technology election needs to be preceded by broad national debates and understanding and agreement on all the details involved. As a German court pointed out in 2005 in suspending its use, it must be possible for the ordinary voter to understand all the processes surrounding its use without resort to experts. The maximum information about them ought to be made known in advance. INEC also ought to be concerned and investigate the issue of the disappearing voter Because low turnout raises serious issues about the legitimacy of governments and the future of this democracy. We have not had a civil war in recent years. Allusions to a large number of dead people in the register just won't cut it, given the number and magnitude of the disappeared. So there are two issues in this. First of all, what is called into question is the use of technology. We know, all of us from our private lives, that the use and maintenance of technology is an expensive thing. Is it an effective and efficient business? Before we go to that, it's an expensive thing. First of all, in order to prevent hacking, you have to update constantly. In order to avoid glitches, you have to make sure you are constantly updating and all that and all that. Beyond the updates, it is important that whatever system you are using, the average John on the street should be familiar with his show, understand it. It is important there should be agreements about it. It shouldn't be that we get to election day and discover something you said you would photocopy and transmit immediately to your server. Your server is not working. This doesn't cut it. These are things we need to have agreed on before. We need to know it and we need to stick by it. That's on one hand. Then there's the other important issue. Since 1999, if you look at the statistics, the number of people voting have been coming down. I mean, how can you have, say, 93 million registered voters and your winner is someone that won with 90 million? That means the majority of people did not vote for him. It is a serious issue in democracy. Where are all the people going? Year by year is reducing. Because of this cash crunch, what is happening? It's something on the national scale and I think we should be worried about. What is happening? Why are people seemingly vanishing? You get my point. These are the two issues I think we can discuss. Beyond this place, I think there should also be a national debate about it. If I may go, the second issue, which is, you know, reduction, it's not easy to attribute a particular cost to it. We can say, yes, people are not so confident that they are vote matters anymore. We could say that's the point. We could say so many people have left the country. We could say people have died. I find interesting from what you just said is that INEC has not really looked into it. I noted it in passing when I was looking through some of the data that it's actually reducing. If INEC is really interested in carrying out all its full functions, they should be able to find a way to gather information. Let's check all the parameters because a lot of times the actual reason is not what people think when data actually comes to it. What I am interested in is how one could get INEC to own up to that responsibility and spell out the steps they would take to address it or at least to find out what the cost is. We can finish this conversation right now and then it's not until another four years when we are recording the figures that will now say it has reduced further. So that would be what I want to look at. What tools do we have to really push for analysis of this trend we are seeing? I think first and foremost, the issue of low voter turnout. This time around, I won't speak of other elections. I want to speak about this election. A voter party is one where the process is to even register your... There are a lot of people that try to register but they could not. Maybe due to... That's an INEC issue. An INEC issue, large queues at the INEC registration centre and some other one or two things and the rest. So many of them that actually had the votes were either scared or worried about their security or they were just not interested anymore. Voter party tired of the status quo. We have no much encouragement, no much sensitisation election. And then the other aspect of it is... I'm going to talk about the use of technology. Yes, I want to applaud INEC chairman initially. I said, okay, bringing out BIVAS is a good idea because it's going to help this process. But then we don't know whether BIVAS is not a blessing or a cause. Because you see what has happened. Everybody was applauding about this and that. But what I'm going to say to INEC chairman now is that if you can resolve this BIVAS issue, let's think bigger. I was expecting at the day of election, I was expecting that when I get there, I'm not going to turn print anymore. I would just click on... After they verified me, I would just click on something, punch a button. So they should think about that. That's the process you are talking about. That's the problem. That's the message. They can keep up the... They can keep up the... Actually pointing out that if you want to use anything, average Joe should know that. Explain. But you can explain to them in local languages, what they want to understand. I should do need an expert to understand. They can have maybe your polling centre, something polling centre that has the necessary facility, where power is needed, have these machines, ۄ гар망 ۝ ۤ gunstyle이고 ۝ eipponbigo Africa , 포争a arrator�ặn Duty . ۝ beakau ۚ daya ۓ daya ۚ daya ۃ daya ۚ daya ۔ daya ۖ daya ۰ daya ۝ daya ۚ daya ۟ daya ۗ daya మ౑గత్ివల్ల్డ్డలాడిసీంన్ఠింది మ౑గర్క్డ్లు. మ౑గర్లులులిన్డిలు. మ౑గరిగరివల్డ్గింద్నెర్మోలులులులుచ్న్లు. పనలంజWER�క్కోయస్� నేర్న౎బ్త్ర్యంనేననేన్త్రించెదినేక్క్ందా. తమార్నోధ్఺఩్్రస్ిరా. నేస్కాలెఇన్డినలుదా. సిదెనిన స౜కంవరికి. ఆగింవికికి. సికకికసిసికాధ౸ు కర్న్న్. . To catch up with the previous brokers, go to plusTVAfrica.com forward slash the advocate engine. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel Plus TV Africa. Till next week, same time on this station, let's keep advocating for a better society. Bye.