For the general elections in February 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that a total of 176,846 Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems will be used.
Festus Okoye, National Commissioner for INEC and Chairman of the Committee on Information and Voter Education, made this announcement on Monday at the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association Annual Seminar 2022 in Abuja.
He added that the commission would supply 17,618 BVAS machines as backup, two units for each registration area.
In addition, Okoye stated that INEC would upgrade its data recovery facilities and all of its platforms before the elections to fend off the ongoing hacker and political actor attacks on the platform, adding that the commission was committed to holding free and fair elections in 2023.
The commission is steadfast and unwavering in its determination to hold inclusive, transparent, and free elections, he declared.
The public has a right to know what the commission is doing, so the commission will continue to be open and transparent in its technological advancements, Election business is public business.
“INEC will keep integrating technology into the voting process over time to increase transparency and verifiability in voter authentication and result management”.
The technology that the commission can use will inevitably be impacted by the nation’s level of technological advancement and the infrastructure’s condition.
“In this regard, the commission will continue to move quickly but cautiously because accurate result management is more crucial than quick technological adoption.
He continued, “We are confident that the BVAS and IReV will be a key pillar and element in the march towards an electoral process driven by technology to obviate malicious human interference in the electoral process.
