- The BVAS is designed to operate offline, allowing for faster and more seamless voter authentication and accreditation experiences without the need for internet connectivity.
- Synchronization, an ongoing process, may result in changes in accreditation figures as more data is incorporated to update existing figures.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has requested that Nigerians reject claims that voter data on the various Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems (BVAS) utilised in the Kogi state gubernatorial election last Saturday was manipulated.
Yakubu Murtala, the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) candidate in the election, claimed that the commission was collaborating with the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is in power, to alter the data in order to reflect purportedly excessive voting in polling places spread over four local government areas in the state.
The justification was provided in a statement on Tuesday by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Member of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee.
He said INEC’s attention was drawn to some media reports alleging that the Commission was tampering with the accredited figures of voters in the Kogi Governorship Election results uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
Describing the reports as unfounded, Haruna said the most accurate and up-to-date Voters’ Accreditation Data is available in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS, which is used for the authentication and accreditation of registered voters at various polling units on election day.
“It automatically retains the accreditation data of all voters”, he stated.
According to him, the BVAS is designed to primarily work offline without Internet connectivity, which facilitates faster and seamless authentication and accreditation experience for voters.
“However, when its application is active or in use, depending on the strength of its connection to the Internet, the BVAS automatically exports the accreditation data to the Accreditation Backend System ABS.
“This exportation of data does not happen when the device’s application is inactive or when the internet connectivity is poor. The same experience applies to a situation where more than one BVAS gadget is used at a polling unit with more than 1,250 registered voters. This could be compared to a situation when poor network services delay the delivery of an SMS sent from one individual to another through a mobile phone.
“At the close of poll, Presiding Officers are expected to press the data exportation button on the BVAS to ensure that all the accreditation data are exported to the ABS. This process, referred to as synchronization and which is ongoing, could lead to changes in the accreditation figures as more data flow in to update the existing figures.
This is the basis for the caveat provided on the IReV portal, regarding the accreditation figures. The accreditation data cannot be changed on the BVAS after the close of poll.
“The public should disregard the misleading report and misinformation”, Haruna urged
Discussion about this post