The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has test runs the Bimodal Voters Authentication System (BVAS) in Ekiti, ahead of the June 18 governorship election in the state.
The Chairman led other management staff, on Monday, to conduct a mock voters’ accreditation using the Bimodal Voters Authentication System (BVAS).
The mock exercise was conducted in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, Ikere-Ekiti and Igede-Ekiti ahead of June 18 Ekiti governorship polls.
It is part of measures to test-run logistics requirements for hitch-free governorship polls. Electorates in the three locations submitted their voters’ cards for authentication with fingerprints and faces recognised.
The authentication process lasted between 60 seconds and two minutes, while there were few failed attempts in capturing the biometrics of prospective voters.
Addressing journalists in Ikere-Ekiti, Prof. Yakubu expressed satisfaction with the performance of BVAS, noting the result had cleared doubts about the efficiency of the machines.
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According to him, the Commission had identified the challenges associated with the BVAS and improved its functionality for biometric accreditation. He assured the people that the machine will work optimally during the Ekiti and Osun elections.
He added: “The intent of today’s exercise is to test the efficiency of the Bimodal Voters Authentication System (BVAS). We have achieved good results and this shows that the machines are efficient.
“So, the politicians who have doubts about the machine can now be assured that the device will contribute to making the elections credible.”
Prof. Yakubu also expressed INEC’s readiness to ensure the election is transparent, free and credible, pledging its neutrality, with a promise to discharge its responsibilities without bias.
He hinted that the full complement of non-sensitive materials was already at the 16 council areas, and urged the Ekiti people to give INEC all the support to ensure a fair election.
“The purpose of our visit to Ekiti is to see the practice of what the state office has done, conduct mock voters accreditation and engage stakeholders in the electoral process to ensure the election is conducted seamlessly without any hitches,” he added.
