Amid the controversy that trailed the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has insisted that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS has come to stay.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said both BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal were the two important technological innovations in the Anambra State Governorship election.
He spoke during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said, “The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS was deployed for the first time in a major election after the successful pilot in the Isoko South I State Constituency in Delta State in September this year.
“The BVAS has replaced the Smart Card Reader for verification and authentication as part of our improved voter accreditation process. The new technology was designed in-house by INEC engineers.
“Like every new technology, glitches were observed and important lessons learnt.
“We wish to assure Nigerians that the Commission has reviewed the performance of the BVAS in Anambra State and there will be a tremendous improvement leading to optimal performance in future elections.
“The BVAS has come to stay. So too is the uploading of Polling Unit results on the INEC Result Viewing IReV portal in real-time on Election Day.
“We are convinced that the introduction of technology in voter accreditation and result management is better than the best entirely manual process.”
