…To deploy bimodal system for voter fingerprints, facial accreditation
…As Anambra State Govt. cry’s foul
The Independent National Electoral Commission says it will upload election results from the 5,634 polling units to its result-viewing portal as Anambra electorate go to the polls to elect a new governor today.
The commission however, said that collation of results would be done manually as obtained in previous elections and not with the uploaded results.
It said it has full confidence that the technological pathway designed to enhance transparency in the management of the process, would boost people’s confidence in elections and enable Nigerians to view polling unit results in real time as voting ends.
The innovation, introduced in August 2020, was first used by the INEC in the August 8, 2020 Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-election and was later deployed in the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections held on September 19 and October 10, 2020, respectively.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Barr. Festus Okoye, told newsmen that after the commission converted 1,112 voting points to full-fledged polling units, bringing the total polling units in the state to 5,720.
He said 86 polling units would not be used because the commission could not carry out batch transfers because of insecurity and the inability to carry out intensive civic and voter education.
The National Commissioner who said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System newly introduced by the commission would more or less replace the card readers going forward, added that it would be used for voter registration, accreditation and uploading of polling unit results to the result-viewing portal.
He said, “BVAS allows us to use one machine for the purposes of voter registration, accreditation – fingerprint and facial authentication – and uploading of polling unit results to our result-viewing portal. So, it’s a three-in-one solution. We are confident that the BVAS will perform well and it will be the dominant means of accreditation going forward.
“The commission will upload polling unit level results to our INEC result-viewing portal. We are confident that our new technological approach to elections will continue to yield results. We have trained all the ad hoc staff that would use the BVAS and the implication is that we have more or less retired the smart card reader as equipment for voter accreditation.”
“Okoye said that the BVAS were dispatched to the local government areas since Thursday, adding that if any challenge arose, whether in the voting or logistics, the commission had the capacity to deal with them.
“About 17 political parties are taking part in the election and would be contending for over 2.5 million votes in the state. According to INEC, 2,525,471 registered voters would participate in the election.
“Information is that 77,475 valid registered voters at the end of the first quarter of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise were added to the state’s voters’ register. This figure was added to the existing register of 2,447,996 eligible voters used for the 2019 general election. Accordingly, the number of registered voters in Anambra State now stands at 2,525,471.
Meanwhile the Anambra State Government have raised an alarm over alleged highjack of the process by APC, saying that the party had written results for 10 LGAs ahead of the election.
A statement by the state Commissioner for Information reads: “APC has Written Results in 10 LGAs of Anambra State 24 Hours Ahead of the Anambra Election
“1. The Anambra State Government has credible intelligence showing that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has already written results of 10 Local Government Areas as regards the gubernatorial election which will take place tomorrow, November 6, 2021. The results are those of Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Aguata, Orumba South, Orumba North, Idemili North, Idemili South, Ogbaru, Anambra East and Anambra West. These are LGAs with high numbers of registered voters.
“2. APC operatives are relying on compromised Independent National Electronic Commission (INEC) officials, who smuggled out the result sheets of a number of polling units two nights ago and the result sheets of some LGAs last night, to accept and announce the results, regardless of authentic results submitted by INEC officials electronically. They plan to capitalize on the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has yet to assent to the new Electoral Bill which makes electronic voting mandatory to perpetrate the fraud.
“3. A former Senate President from the Southeast, a former State Deputy Governor who later became a Senator from the Southwest and a sitting State Governor from the Southeast are deeply involved in the fraud to toy with the destiny of the Anambra people.
“4. This public announcement is to alert the Anambra people, the INEC national leadership, the security agencies, the mass media, election observers, civil society organizations and the international community of this grand plot. The barefaced brigandage just cannot stand”, the statement concluded.
Two of the polling units, Central School Upper Standard polling unit ward 1 and Oka Agbiligba polling unit visited by our roving crew in Nanka, Orumba North LGA of the state were recording turn out of voters, though election materials, INEC officials and security agents were yet to arrive the units as at 9:45 AM.
Speaking to GMTNews, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Okwudili Ezenwankwo, representing Orumba North/South Federal Constituency, gave kudos to INEC for having the courage to go ahead to conduct the election despite the threat from different quarters.
He expressed the confidence that “this election will turn out to be the most peaceful in the state”.
GMTNews
