Social Media Week Lagos 2019

Elections provide an opportunity for citizens to participate in politics and hold leaders to account. When they work well, elections can deepen civic engagement, inform public debate, stimulate party competition, facilitate peaceful leadership transitions, hold governments accountable, and allow the non-violent resolution of political conflict.

Too often political contests fail to achieve their objectives. There is widespread concern about falling turnout, public disaffection, party polarization, and the failure of elections to ensure legitimate outcomes. Electoral malpractices continue to undermine contests around the world, from overt cases of violence and intimidation to subtler disinformation campaigns, barriers to fair party competition, and the under-representation of women and minority candidates. Most election results are not rejected outright or overturned but they are commonly flawed.

The 2019 General Elections: How Technology Can Help! is a panel session which will shed light on electoral corruption involving malpractices such as kick-back schemes for supporters, vote-buying, or the bribery of electoral officials. We will create a dialogue to empower citizens on unmasking corruption and improving electoral integrity in the electoral process using technological tools. We will explore challenges, mitigation strategies and share stories of how credible corruption reports will improve the upcoming elections.