Claim: A viral video, making the rounds on WhatsApp has a claim that northerners are already learning how to use the electronic voting machine ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The claim that northerners are already learning how to use the electronic voting machine ahead of the 2023 general elections, as a northern hegemonic privilege influenced by President Buhari, is false. The footage was first shared in 2018 to depict the success of the first electronic voting in Nigeria, which was conducted in Kaduna.
Full Text
Recently, a video has surfaced on WhatsApp with the narrative that northerners are already practising how to vote with the electronic voting machine ahead of the 2023 elections.
The post called on southerners to “wake up,” insinuating that the footage exposes a northern secret plan to gain an advantage in the upcoming 2023 polls.
Nigeria is geographically and ethnically divided into the north dominated by Hausa-Fulani and the south largely occupied by Yoruba, Igbo and other tribes.
In the alleged video, some persons were seen in a room, huddled around a voting machine as they seemed engaged in what appeared to be a voting exercise.
The post reads, “Northerners are already learning how to use electronic voting machines. How many of us are aware this exists? Buhari and his allies in the northern part of Nigeria are already testing the electronic machine.”
Further, it pleads with users (southerners) to share the information. “Please pass this to all our sleeping Southerners to wake up and be on alert.”
Aware of the dangers such culturally-sensitive claims pose to the country, DUBAWA decided to fact-check.
Verification
When DUBAWA ran a frame-by-frame analysis of the viral video on the InVid video verifier, the footage was traced to a voting exercise in Kaduna, which took place back in 2018 when the state initiated an electronic voting system for its chairmanship elections.
The earliest version of the video was traced to a Facebook post made by the “LEGACY PARTY OF NIGERIA SULEJA CHAPTER,” on January 31st, 2018. The narrative shared alongside the footage introduced the electronic voting system and how the Kaduna state used it for their elections.
“Below is the prototype of the electronic voting machine that was last year approved by the 8 national Assembly to be used in the forthcoming general election. Kaduna state is said to be the pilot state to ascertain the effectiveness of the voting machine for its local government chairmanship and councillors election slated for this year,” the narrative read.
The same video was also found to have been shared by a Facebook page, the “Movement for the Protection of Plateau Heritage and Dignity” (MOPPLAHD), on February, 8th 2018. Thereafter, it was also featured here and here.
Noticeably, all the places DUBAWA found the video suggested the footage was taken during the Kaduna State chairmanship elections in 2018, and not a discrete practice exercise for the northerners.
The Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is lightweight and easy to transport, as no unit weighs more than 10kg. With a battery life of 10-16 hours depending on conditions, it facilitates an automated process that cuts out blank and void votes and ensures quick counting of results.
On Saturday, May 12, 2018, voters in Kaduna State made history when they became the first electors in Nigeria to use the electronic voting machine to elect chairmen and councillors for the 23 local government councils in the state.
Conclusions
The video used to depict regional bias ahead of the 2023 general elections was taken out of context to mislead the public. The original footage was taken in 2018 when the electronic voting machines were first used for the Kaduna chairmanship elections in 2018. This claim is false.
