Who’s Afraid of BVAS, IREV Use for 2023 Polls?

With the apprehension in some quarters over the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal in the 2023 general elections, the electoral umpire needs to buckle up and ensure there’s no going back, Udora Orizu writes

In the past few months, several alarms have been raised about attempts to coerce the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop the electronic transmission of election results by deactivating the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and preventing the commission from deploying Result Viewing Portal for the real-time upload of polling unit results in next year’s polls.

After years of unrest for changes to Nigeria’s electoral law and manner election is conducted, to curb electoral malpractices which have become more widespread, the signing of the newly amended Electoral Law was seen as a victory for democracy.

The amended Electoral Act which was signed into law in February, 2022 by President MuhammaduBuhari, empowered the INEC to introduce some innovations to strengthen the conduct of election in Nigeria.

Among the innovations introduced was the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) which is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters using the voters’ fingerprints in order to prove that they are eligible to vote at a particular polling unit. BVAS also acts as the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) during voter registration. Its usage has also eliminated the use of incident forms during accreditation on an election day.

Though lapses were noticed in the Anambra gubernatorial election last year, in several polling units in which BVAS was used, the commission has overcome the challenges that hampered its effective use and this was seen in the manner it was used in the recently conducted Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections. In recent times, INEC always state that the deployment of BVAS was the way to go in checking election rigging and other electoral frauds which have characterized elections in Nigeria.

With less than three months to the general election reality is now dawning on political parties that there is no going back on the use of BVAS, hence there are apprehension in some quarters over its deployment and allegations that some members of the ruling All Progressive Congress are opposing its use.

In October, during a TV interview opposition politician, BubaGaladima said some unpatriotic elements in the APC are putting pressure on the INEC Chairman, Prof Yakubu Mahmoud not to use the BVAS for result transmission.

Galadima made reference to the statement by Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya, that the electoral body must be given an alternative to use BVAS only where it is feasible.

According to him, Gaya’s reason of no good network in his constituency to transmit results confirms that the ruling party has a sinister motive.

Earlier, in September, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) raised similar alarm, saying  there are  attempts to coerce INEC to stop the electronic transmission of election results by deactivating the BVAS during the 2023 general elections.

CUPP Spokesman, IkengaUgochinyere at a press briefing alleged that some governors are making frantic efforts to cause a leadership change in the electoral umpire to change the chairman and other top officials who have been identified to be resisting the pressure.

Though INEC has downplayed these claims, it appears there’s some iota of truth in it as the APC national chairman, Senator AbdullahiAdamu while addressing a Commonwealth delegation for the 2023 elections to Nigeria in Abuja last week expressed doubts over the feasibility of electronic transmission of results.

He insisted that INEC must assure the ruling party of its 100% for the process.

Adamu said: “Our concern is how ready are we to deploy some of these technologies as regards transmission because we are taking a major step in transmitting election results in real time.

To transmit results, every part of the nation Nigeria, I’m not sure that the network covers it. I know that even in parts of Abuja  there is no network and we have from now till February when in substantial parts of the country there is no electricity.”

Speaking in the same vein, the APC national organizing secretary, Suleiman Argungu, expressed doubt over the workability of electronic transmission due to network issues.

He said: “As a rider to what the national chairman just said about INEC transmitting results directly during the coming election, apart from the issue of electricity that is unstable, a lot of the villages and communities bordering other countries for instance my state Kebbi that is bordering two nations. During the previous elections the network of Nigeria for all the networks, Glo, MTN, Airtel you can’t get them. If you want to get them you have to use the number of the other countries to reach them. So, during election I don’t see how transmission of result will work. I see it coming.”

PDP, CUPP React

Reacting to Adamu’s assertion, the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said APC is used to manipulation and they are jittery about the BVAS.

The Director of Strategic Communications of the PDP Presidential campaign organizations, Dele Momodu, expressed surprise that at this time and age APC will still want the nation to operate analogue elections.

Momodu said the world has gone digital adding that anything that will eliminate political thuggery, cheating and rigging,  he expects any reasonable political party to support it.

On his part, the CUPP spokesman, Ugochinyere said APC’s assertion has confirmed its intelligence discovery that the ruling party is behind the move to sack the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmoud.

Ugochinyere, also said the development has also confirmed their intelligence report that APC wants to carry out digital vote buying in the 2023 general elections.

Ruling Party Recants

In a swift reaction, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the party has no objection to the deployment of modern technology in the forthcoming general elections.

Morka said the report attributed to the party’s national Chairman in which he expressed reservations about the use of BVAS and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV), said Senator Adamu merely tasked INEC to take effective steps to bridge any gaps that may be created by electricity and telecommunications network challenges in certain outlying voting districts in the country.

INEC Should Ensure No Going Back on BVAS

With the controversies and dissenting views trailing the use of technology in next year’s polls, INEC should ensure it sticks to its resolution to deploy BVAS and IREV for the real-time upload of polling unit results.

The electoral body should gear up for the fierce battle ahead and ensure they give Nigerians the free and fair election they have always promised.

This is because given the ‘Machiavellian’ nature of politics in Nigeria, contrary to claims by many of the candidates that their participation in elections is not a do or die affair, most of them are ready for a fierce battle in which the ‘end justifies the means’.