Is COVID-19 threatening electoral democracy in Uganda? Readiness to accept “scientific voting” (electronic voting) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the readiness of Ugandans to accept electronic voting under the restrictive conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A semi-structured questionnaire, built on a five-point-Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree was used to get quantifiable data from four main electoral stakeholders i.e. the policymakers, urban and semi-urban youth, rural voters and government officials. These stakeholders were purposively and conveniently selected because of the influential roles they play in promoting electoral democracy in Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the authors adopted correlational and quantitative research designs to collect and analyse data. Data was collected from a maximum sample size of 384 as recommended by Krejcie and Morgan (1970) from which 252 useful responses (65.6% response rate) were obtained. Using a statistical package for social scientists version 21.0, the authors performed a Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the relationships between study variables and linear regression analysis to predict the readiness of the stakeholders to accept e-voting more especially under the constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings There was a positive significant relationship between perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude towards adoption, perceived ease of use and attitude towards adoption, attitude and readiness and finally trust propensity and readiness. The regression results show that 65% of the variations in readiness to adopt e-voting can be explained by perceived ease of use, PU, trust propensity and attitude towards adoption. Attitude towards adopting e-voting accounts for the highest variations in the model followed by trust propensity and finally PU. However, perceived ease of use was found to be insignificant. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to only PU, perceived ease of use, trust propensity, attitudes towards using/adoption and readiness to accept e-voting amidst the COVID-19 strict conditions. In Africa, electoral democracy can be influenced by a number of factors such as finances, education levels, sectarianism, voter rigging, perceived risk, political and economic environment. These were not taken into consideration yet they would affect the stakeholders’ attitudes and perceptions which would directly or indirectly affect the adoption of electronic voting. Practical implications Given the low levels of technology infrastructure in the country, there is a general low uptake of technology-oriented systems. The internet reach is low and quality is poor whilst the radio and televisions network is limited to a few urban settings, poor quality technology systems such as the recently acquired voter biometric systems and the constant government actions to switch off the internet and social media whenever there are contentious political issues. These inadequacies together with the restrictive COVID-19 conditions have compromised the participation of stakeholders which dents the stakeholders’ readiness to accept e-voting which consequently compromises electoral democracy in the country. Therefore, government, electoral observers, the international community and civil society organizations need to accelerate the technology infrastructure development in the country, training and development of technical skills and competences, as well as mass mobilization on the use of technology-oriented platforms aimed at promoting electoral democracy. The country should come up with ICT policies and regulations that encourage the use of ICT in areas that promote democracy. These may include; the use of an easy e-voting system such as emails and voting via the post office. Also, Lawmakers, civil society organizations and the international community should make it punitive for anyone who disenfranchises people through internet disconnection, denial of access to broadcast, print and online media. These interventions will restore peoples’ attitudes and perceptions towards electronic voting, consequently increasing their levels of participation in the electioneering process. Originality/value The Ministry of Health, the Uganda Police Force and other security agencies have come out strongly to enforce the COVID-19 standard operating procedures which among others include the banning of political gatherings, processions and meetings of any kind. As a remedy, the Electoral Commission is encouraging political parties, electoral candidates, voters and other stakeholders to use technology-oriented systems such as mobile phones, broadcast and print media, the internet and others to reach out to the electorate. With the government in full control of all these electronic, print and broadcast media, having previously switched them off during the 2011 and 2016 polls consequently disenfranchising many people from their democratic rights, it remains unknown the extent to which the electorate is ready to accept and appreciate scientific voting more so during this time when restrictions against COVID-19 are not making it any better for the voters and other key participants to carry out their political and civil activities.