The Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka has been successful in conducting the first ever entirely online Students’ Union Government election in Nigeria. This was made praticable by an election software developed by the University, enabling students of the institution to vote online from any location within and outside the University.
The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Professor Augustus Atubi, has attributed the success of this groundbreaking online electoral feat to the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Victor Finipaya Peretomode’s flair for the continuous adoption, acquisition and application of digital tools and processes in the institution. He added that the Vice Chancellor has put together a crack team of professional Information and Communication Technologies developers in the ICT Unit of the University who have made groundbreaking digital innovations. According to him, the online voting platform is just one of the digital innovations propelled by the VC.
As reported, the students voted by logging in to a voting site on their mobile devices such as smartphones, communication tablets, laptop computers, using their names and matriculation numbers as users’ name and passwords respectively. The results were made visible to any of them who logged on to the site and this made the election seamless, peaceful and comfortable. Thereafter, the students vote by clicking the columns of their preferred candidates and press the submit icon. The results are automatically transmitted online to the server and made visible to anyone accessible to the server.
Students have commended the Vice Chancellor for the adoption of the online voting method, adding that the online voting was very easy, interesting, credible, transparent, free and fair and encouraged its adoption at the larger society level. The students also commended the VC for his students’ friendly disposition which is further demonstrated through the adoption and application of the current online voting system.
