Why we won’t use BVAS in Anambra local elections – Official

The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) says it would not use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), for the Local Government elections on 28 September.

Anthony Nnalue, the commissioner in charge of Information and Logistics, ANSIEC, made the disclosure at a sensitisation programme organised by the International Peace and Civil Responsibility Centre (IPCRC), on Thursday in Awka.

The programme was organised for accredited election observers and media personnel.

Mr Nnalue said that the BVAS was unreliable after the device’s disappointing performance in previous elections in the country.

He said the commission would deploy manual accreditation, saying it was more reliable.

“We will not use BVAS but manual. BVAS is not reliable; it has distorted the electoral process in Nigeria. We do not want a situation where election results are tampered with,” he said.

Mr Nnalue also assured of the early arrival of election materials, saying the era of delayed arrival of material was over in the state.

He said that non-sensitive materials were already on their way to the local government councils, and 5,720 ad-hoc staff had been trained to conduct the elections across the state’s polling units.

“We are fully prepared for Saturday’s election in terms of security, materials, and other logistics.

“Elections will not be held in Nnewi South, Orumba South and Idemili South. Voters from those areas will be voting at the council headquarters. We do not want to risk the lives of both officers and voters.

“We urge the electorate to come out en masse and vote, your vote will count,” he said.

Also speaking, Chris Azor, the coordinator of IPCRC, urged politicians and the electorate to be vigilant and shun vote buying, violence, gender discrimination, and over-voting.

Mr Azor called on security agencies to maintain neutrality while respecting human rights and the rule of law.

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He also announced that the organisation would establish a Situation Room in Awka for real-time coordination and reporting.

“As accredited observers, we are committed to ensuring a free, fair, credible, and peaceful local government election in Anambra state,” he said.

(NAN)