INEC Reveals How BVAS Secured And Transmitted FCT Election Results

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that it conducted a mock trial of the newly updated Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) at 289 polling units across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ahead of the recent Area Council elections.

Wilfred Ifogah, INEC’s Deputy Director of Information and Publicity, made this disclosure on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, addressing concerns raised following the FCT polls.

He explained that the test-run was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the latest updates to the BVAS.

“Before the FCT elections, we conducted a mock trial of the BVAS update in 289 polling units across the territory,” Ifogah stated.

The official noted that the upgrade was aimed at reinforcing the credibility of result management at the polling unit level.

He added that presiding officers are now required to enter results directly into the BVAS after collation at each polling unit.

“Once results are calculated at the polling units, the presiding officer inputs the data into the BVAS,” he said.

Ifogah further explained that the system now includes an inbuilt validation mechanism, which cross-checks uploaded results against previously recorded figures.

“If the scanned EC8A form containing tabulated results does not match the number of accredited voters or previously recorded figures in BVAS, the system will reject the submission until it is verified,” he said.

The INEC official emphasized that the update goes beyond merely capturing and transmitting images of result sheets.

“This new feature allows BVAS to validate scanned data against pre-recorded figures, enhancing accuracy and accountability,” he added.

INEC maintained that the improvement is part of its ongoing efforts to ensure transparency and guarantee that results uploaded from polling units accurately reflect figures recorded during accreditation and voting.