The digital transformation of the democratic election process: benefits and challenges
Date
2023
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Abstract
Information Communication Technology (ICT) has been recognised as a key enabler for the transformation of government service delivery objectives. The adoption of technological innovation by government institutions ultimately leads to significant improvements in the lives of broader society. There are compelling deliberations for and against the digital transformation of electoral process. Electronic-voting (e-voting) has been successfully adopted in counties like Brazil and India however research also illustrate Ireland and Netherland has subsequently cancelled e-voting initiates. This study explores the acceptance of technology by utilizing the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). This study amplify the UTAUT model by adding two additional constructs trust in technology (TT) and security expectancy (SE). The study secondary emphasis was to ascertain the correlation between predictor variables and behavioural intent (BI) to adopt e-voting .The outcome established there exist a significant coefficient path between the independent and dependent variable for effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), security expectancy (SE), and trust in technology (TT). The outcomes for performance expectancy (PE) does not illustrate significant coefficient correlation. A quantitative research approach was undertaken by using a cross-sectional research design. A fully structured closed questionnaire was developed from existing literature and distributed to participants via the internet. The information was collected from 140 participants which were further calculated by means of regression techniques, which supported this study research hypotheses. The study further recommends future research take into consideration the influence of the digital divide on the adoption of e-voting in the South Africa context. Establish a task team that is led by industry leaders who have successfully led transformation processes. This could be achieved through the creation of information-sharing sessions with broader society about the challenges and opportunities that the digital transformation process presents. Voter education drives could also offer experiential campaigns that illustrate the iii C2 General benefits of e-voting and how society can benefit from the transformation process.
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Digital Business to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022
Keywords
Technological innovation, Electronic-voting (e-voting), Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), UCTD