Unveiling the Factors Influencing the Adoption of Electoral Technologies in Nigeria's Electoral System

This study examined the factors influencing the adoption of electoral technologies in Nigeria’s electoral system, so as to improve Nigeria’s electoral process. The study was carried out in the six (6) state offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in one of six Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, known as the southwest, comprising Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states, and at the national head office of INEC, Abuja. The primary data were collected using semi-structured key informant interviews and questionnaire administration of 240 copies of structured questionnaires, at the Information and Communication Technology/Voter Registry (ICT/VR), and Electoral Operations (EOps) departments of the commission. The questionnaire elicited information on the factors influencing the adoption of electoral technologies, such as the ability to improve election management, ease of use of the electoral technologies, among others. Semi-structured key informant interviews with one of the top managers were conducted to assess the manager’s views about the factors that influence the adoption of electoral technologies in the commission. The results from the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) showed that Facilitating conditions, causing a variation of 21.67% on the electoral technologies; Performance conditions (17.53%), Social Influence (14.19%); and Impact on electoral service delivery (10.16%), were the four main factors significantly influencing the adoption of electoral technologies, making a cumulative variation of 63.54%. The study concluded that appropriate organisational and technical infrastructures, such as periodic technical training, should be put in place by INEC to support the adoption of electoral technologies.