The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said the commission is looking forward to improve the performance of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States on November 11.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said at a regular consultative meeting with civil society organisations (CSOs) in Abuja on Wednesday 25th October 2023.
He said that the ccommission recently conducted a mock accreditation exercise involving actual voters in designated polling units in the three states two weeks ago to test the efficacy of the BVAS for both biometric authentication of voters and the upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Yakubu said the mock accreditation exercise was successful and the commission is encouraged by the test results. He said the commission is looking forward to improved performance of the BVAS in voter accreditation and result upload in the forthcoming Governorship elections and beyond.
The BVAS is a new technology that was used for the first time in the 2023 general elections. It has been praised by some election observers for its potential to improve the accuracy and transparency of elections in Nigeria. However, the BVAS has also been criticized for its technical glitches and slow performance.
INEC has consistently maintained the BVAS achieved at least 90 percent success rate during the General Election.
Responded on behalf of the CSO, Comrade Tunde Bafunso from Justice and Equity Organization urged the voters in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States to come out en-masse on election day, to perform their civic responsibilities by voting for their preferred candidates.
Bafunsho who expressed confidence in the electoral umpire’s preparations for the elections, reiterated INEC’s assurance of a safe and secure environment during the off-cycle elections in the three states.
He pledged that CSOs will continue to play their role and contribute their quota to the sustenance of credible election in the country.
Pro. Yakubu is expected to brief CSOs about the Commission’s level of preparedness for the Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi Governorship elections during the consultative meeting.
