Group lauds INEC’s BVAS deployment, calls for post-elections review

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Education, Social and Health Mission (MESH), has lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for ensuring the seamless conduct of last week’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The group, an offshoot of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), which participated as an observer in the election, advised the INEC to strengthen the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), to improve on future electoral processes.

Its National Coordinator, Khadijah Oladipupo, in a statement, while commending the resilience voters demonstrated during the election, observed that despite the improvement in the electoral process by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, little hitches were still recorded.

She said: “Though the BVAS machine was designed to check manipulations, the technology needed to be improved to transmit election results in real time to avoid rigging, to protect the sanctity of the election results.

“We observed high percentage of female electoral officials and large turnout of female voters. Security personnel also showed high degree of professionalism during the election across the country.

“Logistical challenges and isolated incidents of political violence, late arrival of electoral officers, overcrowded polling units, over voting, late collation of results overshadowed the largely successful electoral process and impeded a substantial number of voters from participating. The inability of election officials to upload and transmit election results in real time via the BVAS machine gave room for apprehension in some quarters.”

To ensure a more free and fair elections in the future, Oladipupo appealed to the electoral body to implement the recommendations of observers’ groups by conducting a thorough post-elections review, to draw lessons and consider improving on their logistics operations.

She, however, urged all stakeholders especially Faith-Based Organisations to intensify voters’ education to reawaken and re-orientate Nigerians on the need to participate fully in the electoral process and shun violence at all costs.