Political parties across Osun State have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently review and reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The parties made the calls in separate statements issued on Saturday.
The calls followed widespread glitches observed during a mock accreditation exercise on Saturday.
Sunday Tribune gathered that the BVAS machines developed technical faults across the designated polling units.
The exercise commenced as scheduled at about 8:00 a.m. in selected polling units across the state, with prospective voters arriving to participate in the mock accreditation designed to test the functionality of the BVAS ahead of the governorship poll.
However, reports from the various centres indicated that the BVAS machines stopped functioning at about 9:36 a.m. The devices reportedly failed to recognise the fingerprints, facial features and photographs of voters whose details were already contained in the voters’ register, forcing the exercise to a halt in the affected polling units.
Reacting to the disruption in a statement issued by the Osun State Chairman of the Accord party, Pastor Victor Akande, the party said the failures recorded were a serious red flag that must be addressed before the August 15 governorship election.
Accord proposed the constitution of a technical committee comprising representatives of contesting political parties to work with INEC in resolving the issues.
The statement also acknowledged that the INEC National Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, was present in Osun and witnessed the challenges firsthand.
“We believe this should eliminate any room for excuses or attempts to downplay the seriousness of the situation,” it said.
In his own reaction, the APC spokesperson, Chief Kola Olabisi, said the purpose of a mock accreditation exercise ahead of any election is to correct any anomaly that may arise during the actual election.
“It is hoped that the said reported technical glitches recorded, where the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines allegedly malfunctioned across several designated polling units, are a wake-up call for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be up and doing with a view to correcting any of the experienced lapses before the forthcoming governorship election,” he said.
Similarly, an APC chieftain in the state, Sunday Akere, noted that the reported malfunctioning of the BVAS machine was not strange. “This is not the first time such will happen,” he said.
“The essence of test-running the machines is to correct any noticeable lapses before D-Day. Instead of lampooning them, they ought to be commended for not waiting till election day when such can no longer be corrected.”
Also, the State Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Dr Yosin Odeyemi, said, “They still have about 13 days to rectify whatever hitch the process may have now.
“Let’s give them more chances. We believe in their ability to give us a credible and fair governorship election.
“We must commend the initiative of the mock, which has helped in discovering the error.”
Likewise, the ADC spokesperson in Osun, Nureni Adebisi, said the reported technical glitches recorded during the INEC mock accreditation were an ugly development that should be urgently assessed and resolved before August 15.
“It is a big technical setback for the entire electoral process such that, if not quickly addressed, it will cast doubt on the credibility of the Osun governorship election,” he said.
“I advise INEC to carry out a complete assessment of its IT department and make necessary adjustments and replacements where necessary. The Osun election is like a ‘mock’ election for the coming national elect
ions in 2027. It shouldn’t send a bad signal to Nigerians.”
