INEC begins mock accreditation

The exercise to assess the effectiveness of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in advance of the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections was announced by the Commission last week. It would take place on February 4.

The machines used for the mock exercise would be adjusted in readiness for the general elections, according to Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC.

The BVAS machine will be used by INEC for the first time in a general election, however, it has already been used in a number of previous off-season elections.

On Saturday, Channels Television covered the fake accreditation exercise in Abuja, which the INEC Chairman oversaw.

Election officials employed facial recognition to authenticate participants at Majidadi 'A' Registration Area in Bauchi city when the BVAS machine was unable to recognize their fingerprints.

Officials from INEC are on the scene observing the practice run.

In Kano State's Gwale Local Government Area (LGA), Dorayi Karama Ward has started the mock accreditation exercise.

According to reports, accreditation for each participant takes at least a minute.

The facial recognition feature was used to authenticate a participant at the Kano ward when the BVAS device was unable to read their fingerprint.

A respectable number of voters participated in the election in Rivers, which was conducted at the Ward 15 Okwuruozu Playground in Rumuosi Port Harcourt in the Obio-Akpor LGA of Rivers State.

There was also a group representing the European Union (EU) Election Observation Missions.

Officials from INEC showed up on time at the location. However, it appears that the incorrect BVAS machine was delivered to the unit.

The problem was fixed and the process began after a short period. As she acknowledged the voters, the presiding officer illustrated how the BVAS works.

One of the residents spoke to Channels Television and expressed their happiness with the Commission's performance.

Source