EU-SDGN Urges INEC to Safeguard BVAS for Ekiti Election

The EU-SDGN observation hub has issued a warning to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the integrity of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the June 20 governorship election in Ekiti State. In their final pre-election assessment released on Friday, they stressed the importance of ensuring that BVAS devices are properly configured, fully charged, and that contingency arrangements are in place to prevent technical glitches that could disrupt the accreditation and voting process.

The group commended INEC for its logistical readiness but expressed concern that the mock accreditation exercise did not include testing the transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV). They called for strict adherence to the electoral legal framework and emphasized the need for a seamless real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units.

The EU-SDGN hub also noted the peaceful pre-election atmosphere in Ekiti but warned of potential tensions due to intensified political competition and vulnerabilities in certain local government areas.