INEC Refutes Allegation Of Data Manupulation On IReV
Oru Leonard
The Independent National Electoral Commission’s, INEC, has denied allegations that the Commission was tampering with the accredited figures of voters in the Kogi Governorship Election results uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal describing it as unfounded.
National Commissioner and Member Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, in a press release dated November 14, 2023 said the most accurate and up-to-date Voters’ Accreditation Data is available in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, which is used for the authentication and accreditation of registered voters at various polling units on election day.
He noted that BVAS automatically retains the accreditation data of all voters.
“The BVAS is designed to primarily work offline without Internet connectivity, which facilitates faster and seamless authentication and accreditation experience for voters. However, when its application is active or in use, depending on the strength of its connection to the Internet, the BVAS automatically exports the accreditation data to the Accreditation Backend System, ABS,” Haruna stated.
He explained that exportation of data does not happen when the device’s application is inactive or when the internet connectivity is poor, adding that the same experience applies to a situation where more than one BVAS gadget is used at a polling unit with more than 1,250 registered voters. This could be compared to a situation when poor network services delay the delivery of an SMS sent from one individual to another through a mobile phone”.
Role of Presiding Officers
The National Commissioner stated that at the close of poll, “Presiding Officers are expected to press the data exportation button on the BVAS to ensure that all the accreditation data are exported to the ABS.
“This process, referred to as synchronization and which is ongoing, could lead to changes in the accreditation figures as more data flow in to update the existing figures.
“This is the basis for the caveat provided on the IReV portal, regarding the accreditation figures. The accreditation data cannot be changed on the BVAS after the close of poll” he explained.
He called on the public to disregard the media reports and said INEC still remains in the eye of the storm since the conduct of the off cycle elections in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa states on 11 November.
