11th February, 2022
By Peter Amine
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has deployed the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) for the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency and Pankshin South state Constituency by-election slated for February 26.
Plateau INEC Head of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Registry Mr Tol Wakili said at a stakeholder meeting on Friday in Jos, that the machine uses software known as Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Wakili said that the machine was a massive improvement from the card reader machine that was deployed in previous elections.
Unlike the card reader, Wakili said the BVAS would identify the fingerprints and faces of registered voters.
“Wakili said that machine was used for the dual purpose of identification and authentication. In case the fingerprint fails, the machine would capture the face of the voter.
“Both of them cannot fail at the same time, if that happens it means the person with the Permanent Voters Card is not the owner,” he said.
According to him, the card reader had loopholes that desperate politicians explored and used to undermine INEC’s efforts at credible and transparent elections.
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Plateau, Mallam Halilu Payi, said that the stakeholders meeting was part of the activities to have a fair, credible and transparent by-election in Jos North/Bassa and Pankshin.
Payi stated that the stakeholders meeting was one of the critical platforms that INEC used to carry all stakeholders along.
Election activities hold around political parties and they need to be aware of their roles, adding that if they failed to understand their roles, the election may not be successful.
“We are here to brief the stakeholders, including security agencies, on the things we need to do before that actual day of the election.”
Furthermore, he said that a total of 652,581 registered voters were expected to participate in the elections, made up of Bassa Local Government with 145,904 registered voters, Jos North, 453, 556, while Pankshin South had 53, 121.
He stated that the ongoing continuous voter registration was preparatory to the 2023 election and not for the by-election.
Meanwhile, those who just registered and were yet to get the PVC would participate in the by-election.
NAN