INEC Test Runs BVAS IN Ekiti Ahead Of Governorship Election
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday conducted a mock voters’ accreditation using the Bimodal Voters Authentication System in preparation for the June 18 Ekiti State governorship election.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who led other management staff members to ascertain the effectiveness of the technology in Ado Ekiti, Igede Ekiti and Ikere Ekiti where the mock accreditations were conducted, expressed satisfaction with the performance of BVAS.
Yakubu, who spoke in Ikere Ekiti during the mock accreditation where voter cards of prospective voters in the select areas were authenticated with finger prints and faces, said the result had cleared doubts about the efficiency of the machines.
He said INEC had identified the challenges associated with BVAS as well as improved on its functionality for biometric accreditation; during the Ekiti and Osun states elections.
He said, “The intention of today’s exercise is to test the efficiency of BVAS. We have achieved good results and this shows that the machines are efficient.
“So, the politicians who have doubts about the machines can now be assured that the device will contribute to making the elections credible.”
The INEC boss pledged that the electoral umpire would be neutral and discharge its responsibilities without bias to ensure that the governorship elections were transparent, free and credible.
He said non-sensitive materials had already been distributed to the 16 council areas as he urged the people of Ekiti State to give INEC all the necessary support to ensure a hitch-free election.
Yakubu said, “The purpose of our visit to Ekiti State is to see practically what the state office has done, conduct mock voters accreditation and engage stakeholders in the electoral process to primarily ensure the election is conducted seamlessly without any hitch.”
