INEC Reduces BVAS for Osun Election Despite More Polling Units

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the deployment of 5,130 Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices for the upcoming Osun election on August 15, 2023, which is 175 fewer than the 5,305 devices used in the 2022 governorship election. The number of polling units has increased from 3,753 to 3,763, yet the backup machines have decreased from 1,552 to 1,328.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), revealed these details during a media session in Osogbo, stating that the increase in backup devices was a response to political parties' concerns and observations from a mock accreditation exercise.

The commission is preparing for 2,339,233 registered voters across 320 wards in 30 local government areas, with 14 political parties participating. INEC will deploy approximately 32,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members for the election and has coordinated with security agencies to ensure a safe electoral process.