It does not take rocket science to be convinced that a large percentage, if not all, of the elections in the past in Nigeria have in one way or another been adulterated. Although the general populace does not know what exactly is responsible for these heinous actions, whether the electoral body’s incompetence or dishonesty or the criminal actions of political parties and their cronies, it cannot be overemphasized that some measures have to be put in place to ensure the integrity of the electoral process is no longer compromised and that announced election results reflect the people’s choices.
In view of these past, and sadly normal occurrences of irregularities and jeopardy in the electoral processes that Nigeria has experienced in the previous elections, a platform NigeriaDecide has been developed to monitor election and ensure the integrity of election results. NigeriaDecide is a platform intended to collate the results exactly as announced in each polling unit across the nation and transfer them to a safe and secure server where everyone can view the results online. This is to ensure anyone and everyone can have a picture of the results that are expected to be announced by the electoral monitoring body. This will help to have an idea of where the discrepancies occurred and the appropriate quarters can be challenged concerning the published results.
This requires that everybody be interested in making sure that their choices in the elections are not over-ruled by some unpleasant elements in the polity. In this wise, there is a need for all to be actively involved in the process – from voter’s registration right through to the election results announcement.
The effectiveness of the NigeriaDecide platform depends on the active participation of concerned Nigerians in the electoral process. Thiswill require the submission of the results announced in each polling unit by SMS to the NigeriaDecide platform for it to be collated and secured on the server. There are over 120,025 (one hundred and twenty
thousand and twenty-five) polling units in Nigeria, so there needs to be active involvement of concerned Nigerians for this undertaking to be accomplished and to cover all polling and the results from each polling unit, so that the interests of all Nigerians are equally represented (at least 120,025 people are needed).
To be part of this election monitoring platform, you must be registered to vote (you will need the polling unit number on your voter’s card to register on the NigeriaDecide platform).
To register on the platform, SMS “polling unit number” e.g. 05/07/09/008 to 09037346541. You will immediately receive a registration confirmation alert on your phone.
Then on the election day, to send in election results announced at the polling unit, SMS the announced results for your polling unit in this specified format e.g. aa500 apc503 acd512 pdp503 and send to 09037346541.
The NigeriaDecide platform is powered by CloudWare Technologies, an innovative technological solutions provider that provides appropriate technological measures to meet Africa’s pressing needs. CloudWare Technologies’ client base ranges from individuals to corporate establishment, federal government and international organizations.
For more information on the electoral process and how to be a partner in this cause, email info@nigeriadecide.org or call 0700CLOUDSMS or visit www.nigeriadecide.org