Using Mobile Phones in Elections in Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

A considerable number of developing countries have introduced Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) mainly in the initial stages of the electoral process such as voter registration using biometric technology. Post-conflict and emerging democracies in particular are exploring biometric voter registration to have clean voter registers—free of ghost voters such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Guinea Conakry, and Uganda. However, several other attempts to integrate ICTs—particularly computer-based systems in electoral processes in many developing countries have registered high failure. Causes of failure are mainly social cultural and economic challenges rather than technical and security factors. The various failures come at a soaring price for the world’s poorest countries. For example in 2001, Uganda lost US$ 22 million in a failed e-registration system. Hence there is a need to continue investigating how such failures can be avoided or at least reduced. Some Scholars have suggested the use of mobile phones as a voting tool given their wide spread use, portability, and affordability. However, to-date, research on use of mobile phones in elections has mainly focused on individual cases of using mobile phones in elections in specific countries. To our knowledge, there has not been an examination of current use of mobile phones in elections versus the opportunities they offer and existing challenges. This discussion is useful to inform future development of mobile phone based electoral services and enactment of relevant policies. This chapter discusses opportunities mobile phones can offer developing countries in organizing and conducting free and fair elections, how mobile phones are currently being used, challenges still inhibiting wider use of mobile phones in elections in developing countries and possible solutions.