Bingham Abuja varsity students develop e-voting software

Five students of the Bingham University, Abuja » , have reportedly developed an e-voting software during their internship. The 400-Level Computer Science students hope that the software can be adopted for elections in Nigeria. The brain behind the concept, Shammah Abubakar is of the belief that this software is the perfect solution to Nigerian electioneering challenges. “ This innovation is a panacea to Nigerian electioneering challenges which for decades has been marred by fraud and controversies,” he said. The software has been used by seven students’ groups that conducted elections within the school in last one year, as well as by the Nigerian Society of Engineers , Bauchi Branch, during its 20th Annual General Meeting. It was also revealed that one of the best features of the software is that it allows for both e-voting and remote voting. Voters can place their votes at a polling booth with the use of an electronic device, and some can also cast their secure votes remotely from anywhere provided they have been accredited and have stable internet connection. Both methods were tested and used for the institution’s alumni association election. A statement released by Acting Public Relations Officer of the institution, Monica Ankeli explained the voting experience. “ On the day of election, a central polling booth was set up within the university so as to enable the electoral officials observe the process. The voting portal which was hosted online was opened from 8:00am-4:00pm so as to enable Diaspora vote due to the different time zones. The officials made sure Diaspora participated as they were duly contacted and interviewed on phone by the electoral observers,” the statement reads. The results of the elections were displayed in real-time as the voting progressed. The statement added representatives from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Turkish Nile University , former member House of Representatives Hon. Dauda Garba , were in attendance to observe the use of the software for the elections.