The Independent National and Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians of the top-notch functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, in the coming governorship and state house of assembly elections.
Following the abysmal performance of the machine in the just concluded presidential and national assembly elections which was marred by glitches, INEC has continued to review the system to ensure the smooth running of the machine in the forthcoming elections.
While at a meeting with States Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja, the chairman of INEC Mahmood Yakubu expressed confidence that going forward, the system will run optimally, while noting that the machine will once again be deployed for voter accreditation and result management in this weekend’s polls.
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In his words,
“As we approach the Governorship and State Assembly elections, we must work harder to overcome the challenges experienced in the last election. Nothing else will be acceptable to Nigerians. Election day logistics must be finalized days before the election and handled by the Electoral Officers (EOs) at the Local Government level.
“This has been our standard practice. Centralizing the process as was done in some States resulted in a delayed deployment of personnel and materials and late commencement of polls. RECs will be held responsible for any tardy arrangement or the failure to deploy electric power generators to collation centers or polling units where such facilities are needed. The Commission has enough facilities in all the States of the Federation. Failure to deploy them is simply inexcusable.
It would be recalled that glitches recorded in the machine in the just concluded 2023 presidential election caused a lot of chaos. There were reports of low battery, lack of internet data, and the failure of the machine to verify and accredit voters. The technology also faced technical challenges in transmitting results in some parts of the country, which raised concerns.
This forced some citizens at different polling units across the nation to offer power banks, and also share data with INEC officials. Some went as far as bringing generators to ensure the smooth operation of the machine. Following the failure of the machine to perform up to full functionality, this stirred up reactions, with some citizens stating that INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmoud, has damaged the credibility of the electoral system.
This is coming after INEC’s assurance of the top-notch functionality of the machines and its ability to seamlessly accredit voters and transmit results electronically on the day of the election. The Bimodal Voters Accreditation System replaced the smart card reader used in 2015 and offers dual capacity for fingerprint and facial authentication. INEC announced its intent to use the technology in April 2022.
With the recent reassurance of INEC Chairman that the machine has been reviewed to function well, hopefully, Nigerians don’t get to see a repeat of what transpired at the presidential election.