INEC Improved Card Reader Machine and Credibility of the 2019 Gubernatorial Election in Rivers State, Nigeria

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an increasingly and indispensable aspect of living and working in the 21^st century. Based on the assumption that an automated system through ICT can aid human efficiency and eliminate bias, INEC in 2015 fully adopted the use of CRM in the Nigerian elections. However, in its debut season, the CRM witnessed a lot of hitches in terms of functionality. Data from INEC shows that the machine recorded an underwhelming average success rate of 42%nationwide during the presidential election. Therefore, to ensure a hitch-free election in 2019, INEC embarked on a massive repair and enhancement exercise to upgrade, fix, and improve all aspects of the CRM. Anchoring on the ‘Cybernetics Model of Communications Theory’, this paper examines the use of INEC improved CRM and the credibility of the 2019 gubernatorial election in Rivers State. Methodologically, a triangulation research design was utilized to facilitate the validation of data through qualitative and quantitative data collections. In the quantitative phase, 200 copies of questionnaires were randomly distributed in Port Harcourt, Obio-Akpor, Oyigbo, and Eleme local governments. Data collected were analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation for the research items. Thus, items that rated 2.50 and above were considered as required while items that rated below 2.50 were considered not required. The paper found that the CRM was not given a fair trial and was not used in several places where results were produced due to heavy militarization of the election, and the destruction and hijacking of sensitive materials by cult groups, military personnel and armed thugs working for politicians. On the strength of the findings, the paper strongly recommended the adoption of an electronic voters’ system where voters can log-in and vote using bank verification number (BVN) and personal identification number (PIN), and those with no such capacity can as well vote in an INEC designated area closer to them.