OPEN BALLOT SYSTEM IS NOT BETTER THAN SECRET BALLOT SYSTEM
Good afternoon, chairman, moderator, panel of Judges, accurate time-keeper, co-debaters, ladies and gentlemen. I am standing before you to oppose the motion which states that the open ballot system is better than the secret ballot systern. The open ballot system option is a system of voting which requires that voters should vote openly by queuing behind their candidate while the secret ballot system, on the other hand, demands that a voter secretly exercises his or her voting right inside a polling booth.
As far as I am concerned, the best voting option for Nigeria is the secret ballot system. The politics of Nigeria is very volatile and every attempt to use the open secret ballot system has been accompanied by violence and political bickerings. In the past, there have been cases of violent attack on the voters who refused to line up behind certain candidates. The secret ballot system protects every voter from all forms of attack. It gives room for a voter to confidently and secretly exercise his or her right without any fear of molestation. Our political development has not got to the level of using the open ballot system.
Furthermore, it is easy for voters to use their discretion in voting for a candidate. in a secret ballot system, a voter votes objectively according to his or her assessment of the potentials of a prospective contestant.
In addition to this, it thwarts the attempt of politicians to buy voters over with money. Therefore, it discourages the use of money to hijack elections by "money bags". As we all know. Nigerian politicians are fond of throwing money about when elections are approaching with the desire to influence the electorate unduly. The secret ballot system discourages this as many politicians have realised that the electorate can just collect their money without voting for them.
Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I know my opponents want to claim that the open ballot system makes it convenient for easy counting and to reduce the rate of rigging, but what of the latent coercion and intimidation which make objective voting impossible? Even the secret ballot system makes it easy for a re-counting when there is a legal dispute about the election of a winner. It is very easy to re-count the ballot papers in a court of law.
Finally, the secret ballot system makes it possible for every citizen above the age of eighteen to come out to vote. Those who dislike queuing up definitely find it easy to vote secretly. Most of the electorates prefer the secret ballot system because it saves them from embarrassment and molestation.
Panel of Judges and my attentive audience, I strongly believe that I have been able to convince you that the secret ballot system is better for Nigeria than the open ballot system. Thank you.