INEC Assures Readiness Ahead of Osun Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the people of its readiness for August 15 Osun State governorship election.

The commission said a total of 2,038,039 voters had been registered for the election, out of which over 1.8 million have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Fifteen candidates are in the running for the election, among them the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking a second term.

Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity, INEC; Mr Rufus Ariyo said the commission had stepped up voter sensitization across the state, focusing on youths, women, persons with disabilities, trade-based organizations and other grassroots groups.

He urged eligible voters to come out and exercise their franchise peacefully. Several groups have assured the commission of their readiness to participate in the poll.

One of the major features of the election is the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to accredit voters.

“manual accreditation would not be allowed, Ariyo said adding that voters would be electronically accredited thru BVAS using facial recognition or fingerprints.

He said the system would also help to prevent multiple voting because the number of votes recorded at a polling unit could not be more than the number of accredited voters transmitted from the unit.

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The official said BVAS is not electronic voting, stressing that what Nigeria has now is electronic accreditation and not electronic voting.

He said the electronic ECV system by INEC would complement the manual election documentation process and help to reduce errors by providing information on registered and accredited voters.

The system would enable election officials to spot discrepancies and correct errors recorded by hand, he said.

Ariyo said; “the commission had taken measures to avert a repeat of the technical challenges experienced during accreditation in the Ekiti Governorship election.

Two weeks to the Osun poll, the INEC conducted a mock accreditation exercise to test its systems and identify possible challenges, he said.

He said an error discovered during the exercise was corrected immediately, which has boosted the commission’s confidence in its readiness for Saturday’s election.

Ariyo also assured Muslim women wearing hijab that they would not be marginalized, adding that female election officials would assist them in ‘biometric verification where necessary’.

“I want to tell every voter in Osun to come out en-mass on Saturday, come out and elect their own leader by themselves. “They shouldn’t let a handful of people decide their fate,” he said.