The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday successfully test ran a mock exercise with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in Ekiti, ahead of the state’s governorship election which is expected to happen in July.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the BVAS technology is a new innovation that facilitates the accreditation of voters on election day.
Speaking to reporters during the exercise in Ekiti State, INEC’s Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu pointed out that the exercise had been a success.
‘We said we are going to do a mock-test in a few local government areas to further test the functionality of the machines before the election,’ Yakubu said. ‘And so far, so good with the mock’ he added.
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He went on to add; ‘We have visited one of the polling centres in Ado; we are here in Ikere. From there we go to Irepodun/Ifelodun local government for the same reason.
‘And overall assessment is that we are happy with the functionality of the machines.’
The INEC Chairman went on to add that the electoral umpire was also interested in the readiness of facilities for the election.
‘As you can see, we have renovated the Ikere local government office, just as we have done with many other local government offices. These are not administrative facilities; they are also electoral assets.’
Meanwhile, Africa Today News, New York recalls that the last time the BVAS technology was used was during last November’s governorship election in Anambra State. It can be recalled that there were many complaints on the functionality of the machines.
Meanwhile, INEC has continued to assure Nigerians on the level of their preparations for the 2023 general elections, vowing that the exercise must be credible, free and fair.