The NBA said the election scheduled to be held in July will be through electronic voting.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Tuesday, rolled out the plan for the election of its national officers.
It said the election scheduled to be held in July will be through electronic voting, which the association first adopted in 2016, and for subsequent elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
The NBA's Electoral Committee chair, Oluseun Abimbola, made this decision known during the launch of nomination forms in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the system is aimed at facilitating the participation of NBA members from various locations.
"Our voting system is electronic so that members can vote from their respective locations. Secondly, I can assure you that all we are doing is transparent for members to be able to verify.
"We will soon issue guidelines that will govern every stage of the process. We have issued some guidelines already, and we will issue more as we progress," he said.
He said the initiative will be used during the 20 July election to enable all registered members across the country's branches to engage in the electoral process.
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The committee has set 20 April as the deadline for shortlisting successful respondents.
Mr Abimbola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), assured that there would be transparency throughout the electoral proceedings, stating, "Our adoption of electronic voting will enable members to cast their votes from anywhere. Furthermore, we are committed to ensuring that all our procedures remain transparent, allowing members to verify each step.
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"Comprehensive guidelines governing the entire process will be issued in due course. While some guidelines have already been established, additional directives will be provided as the process unfolds."
Responding to queries regarding real-time result accessibility, he affirmed that candidates and their representatives would be granted access to the system's backend.
"Given the NBA's extensive network comprising 120 branches nationwide and over 150,000 members, it is essential to ensure adequate representation for candidates. We guarantee thorough verification by candidates and their representatives at every stage of the process," he explained.
Mr Abimbola reiterated the committee's commitment to maintaining a secure technical framework for the election, emphasising transparency and credibility.
"Access to both the front and backend will be granted as necessary. However, exposing the entire NBA to backend access poses security risks. Hence, access will be restricted to those requiring it," he said.
All of the association's elections since the inception of the use of electronic voting in 2016 have recorded varying degrees of acrimony about the credibility of the process.
Regarding submissions, he said that over 50 forms had been received by the committee as of Monday.
"We have received 50 submissions thus far for all association positions. The opening of forms will provide clarity on candidates and their respective positions," he added.
