INEC says minor BVAS glitches won’t affect Osun poll

We ready for the election – Chairman

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has described as “minor” the glitches experienced with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the mock accreditation exercise in Osun State on Saturday.

Addressing journalists after the exercise, Amupitan disclosed that the commission has decided to deploy an additional 703 BVAS machines and increase the number of backup devices by an additional 664.

He said, “Based on some concerns expressed by some political parties on the number of BVAS deployed to the State, we have increased the total number of BVAS for the election from 4,427 to 5,130 so as to service split polling units in large PUs in Ife East, Irewole, Egbedore, Ede North and Osogbo.

“In the process, we increased the number of back-ups from 664 to 1,328 for quick intervention in case of any malfunction.”

He explained that the BVAS was monitored during the exercise and demonstrated optimal field resilience, taking between 30 seconds and two minutes to successfully verify a voter using either fingerprints or facial recognition.

Amupitan, who declared that INEC is ready for the election, promised that the commission would remain independent, neutral and dispassionate.

“We do not care who wins the election; we only care how they win. Our sole job is to ensure that the process is clean, that every valid vote counts, and that the declaration reflects nothing but the true sovereign will of the Osun electorate,” Amupitan said.

He disclosed that stakeholder meetings had been held with traditional rulers, political parties, civil society organisations and community leaders on how to ensure a peaceful exercise.

On security, Amupitan said, “We have held strategic meetings with security agencies under the aegis of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

“We have received assurances that a specialised, non-partisan security deployment plan is in place to protect the integrity of the ballot and ensure that the citizens of Osun can exercise their franchise without fear,” he said.

He noted that the commission has mapped localised risk corridors, identified emerging threats, anticipated potential flashpoints, prioritised interventions and implemented mitigation measures, particularly in vulnerable locations, especially in parts of Atakumosa East and West, Boripe, Ede North and South, Ife Central, Ifedayo, Ila, Osogbo, Ifelodun and Oriade Local Government Areas.

“These ‘hotspot’ locations will receive specialised, high-visibility security deployments. Security forces have been issued strict operational directives to neutralise thuggery, cult movement, and any attempt at ballot disruption while maintaining absolute professional neutrality,” Amupitan added.