A Web3 based fair and safe election: An African Path to Freedom.

Nigeria made a lot of moves to hold the position as the “Giant of Africa” in most areas, the population being one, innovation, among other competitive areas such as economic status among others. But one area out of a few she won’t make the required effort is the conduction of safe and fair electoral practices. Like many countries in Africa under the control of a few, Nigeria is not very different. As huge as the population is, unlike others, the people controlling the country are more than a few deep-pocketed, known, and hidden.

There is a lot that goes on in the dragon’s den that doesn’t see the light of day. Despite having all the resources to conduct a free and fair election that counts, so long as these deep and powerful pockets remain, that will not be possible. The recently conducted election in Nigeria a few days ago was evidently manipulated with vote buying and aggressive mobbing. Ordinarily, by design, it was supposed to be an online verification, validation, and result update enhanced by both hardware and secured software deployment. But what did we get?

Technology isn’t the only solution to our problems. Innovating and deploying to provide a solution is like a horse we take to the river but can’t be forced to drink. It is barely ten percent of the real solving, it is the people that make the remaining percentage that leads to success. The people that build it, the ones that approve of it, those that deploy it, and those that use it. For the part of technology, a smooth voting process can be done through either USSD, online centralized voting, or Web3 deployment using a decentralized platform.

If USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) were to be used in Nigeria for instance, the current KYC database like NIN, BVN among others with unique identifiers can be used to verify and validate voters for a national voting exercise. Voters can use their mobile phones to dial a USSD code provided by the election commission to access the voting system which provide voters with a menu of candidates and parties to choose from.

Voters can select their preferred candidate or party by typing in the corresponding number on their mobile phone. The USSD system can authenticate the voter's identity and confirm their eligibility to vote. After the voter has made their selection, the USSD platform can record their vote and provide them with a confirmation message. The USSD system will/can transmit the votes in real time to a central database for tabulation and analysis. This option has a chance of providing effective outputs as voters do not necessarily have to leave their home, and any phone can be used, even without internet accesss.

In a recent interview on AriseTV, I made a list of effective options as an alternative to the current system. Options which basically revolve around mobile phone voting with USSD stated above as one of the possible effective ways. Others are smart phone and internet based and we understand how that might be considered a bit of challenge, but not if we have central points as we have ATMs with placed smart gadget with internet feeds allowing voters to participate in the exercise. This can be carried out either as a web2 based or blockchain based solution each with its merits and demerits.

As Web2 is based on the mobile, voters are allowed to cast their ballots electronically via the internet, rather than in person at a polling station with a secured login and password to access the platform. The online platform displays a ballot with a list of candidates and/or issues to be voted on prompting voters to make their selections by clicking on the appropriate choices. The online system then confirms the voter's choices and prompts them to submit their vote which is recorded and displayed in real time. The votes can also be tabulated electronically, and results are announced once the voting period has ended in a timely manner.

Notably, there are concerns about the security and integrity of the online voting process, particularly with regards to preventing fraud and protecting voter privacy. Having robust security measures in place, such as encryption and multi-factor authentication, to ensure the accuracy and fairness of the voting process can very well mitigate this concern. Lastly, the most secured and immutable option will be the blockchain based voting exercise.

This option utilizes a decentralized, immutable, and secure digital ledger to record and verify votes. Voters are authenticated and given a secure digital identity that allows them to access the voting system. The blockchain platform provides a list of candidates and/or issues to be voted on powered by the smart contract which is usually opensource allowing anyone to audit to increase trust in the process. The voters then make their selections by submitting a transaction, encrypting it on the blockchain and verified by the nodes, and finally their vote is recorded. The transaction is encrypted and verified by a network of nodes in the blockchain, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the vote. The results are made available to the public on the blockchain, providing transparency and accountability in the voting process in real time.

The use of blockchain technology in a national voting exercise can provide several benefits, including increased security, transparency, and accuracy. Since the blockchain ledger is immutable, tampering with the vote is virtually impossible, which helps to prevent fraud and ensure the integrity of the election. Additionally, the use of smart contracts on the blockchain can automate many aspects of the voting process, including voter authentication and vote tabulation, making the process more efficient and less prone to human error.

While it is a popular argument to say Nigeria isn’t ready for mobile voting or blockchain based voting, we should really look at the population of people effectively and actively using mobile phones. The penetration is high, much higher than those that came out to vote when comparing the registered voters and the eventual accredited voters on the election days. Security, safety, affordability, and efficiency, mobile phone voting wins on all grounds. We just need an unbiased and uncorrupted eyes to see it.?