A Review of Geographic Information Systems Applications to Election Mapping in Nigeria

Abstract

Elections are the major hallmark of democratic societies and many countries have begun applyi Geographic Information System (GIS) to manage the electoral process. GIS is also utilised by political parties to access the dispositions of voters and determine where to focus their campaign efforts. In a GIS, a combination of thematic layers of administrative areas such as population and land use can yield meaningful relationships or scenarios critical to decision-making processes and this makes it an exceptional tool for the management and analyses of election at all stages. Nigeria’s national electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not been very proactive in leveraging GIS and Information Technology for ensuring hitch-free, free and fair elections in the country. GIS is key in enforcing the transparency of this system. This paper reviews the developments of GIS for election mapping in Nigeria and discusses their applications in Nigeria’s electoral system. The study shows that the status of GIS applications for electoral mapping in Nigeria is still in an infancy stage. The critical turning point lies in the full exploitation of GIS by the government’s electoral apparatus.