Despite the successes recorded in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states with the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, the device is on test as general election begin in Nigeria.
INEC has said that the device would reduce election rigging in the country.
Speaking on the use of BVAS on Friday, February 24, the chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said, “The system of using the BVAS for the conduct of elections has come to stay. There’s no going back.”
Apart from Yakubu’s assurance, the Electoral Act 2022, also empowered the commission to make use of technology in the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
According to the Electoral Law, the use of electronic devices such as smart card readers, electronic voting machines and other technological devices, are allowed in the accreditation process for voters and the general conduct of elections.
The new Act provides for the electronic transmission of election results in accordance with the procedure determined by INEC.
With the law empowering INEC, Nigerians are waiting to see how the device would help in reducing electoral rigging in the country.
