The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed in the March 17 gubernatorial and state legislature elections.
The guarantee was given by the commission’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during Saturday’s meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at it’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria capital.
Yakubu claimed improvements are being made to BVAS to prevent a recurrence of the problems experienced during the presidential and national assembly elections.
He noted that the meeting with RECs was to review performance of February 25 elections, urging the RECs to work harder to prevent the governorship elections from experiencing the same problems.
He also said erring INEC staff should be disciplined accordingly, adding that, there are lessons to be learned from the previous election, especially with regards to logistics problems.
Yakubu disclosed that 423 winners were declared in the federal legislative elections with supplementary elections to take place in 46 constituencies.
He explained that of the 109 senate polls 98 was concluded while 325 House of Representatives polls were concluded of the 360 seats.
He said seven political parties will be represented in the senate while eight parties will be represented in the House of Reps.
Yakubu said senators and Reps-elect will receive their certificates of return on March 7 and 8 respectively.
“As we approach the governorship and state assembly elections, we must work harder to overcome the challenges experienced (BVAS) in the last election. Nothing else will be acceptable to Nigerians,” Yakubu said.
Adding that, “All staff found to be negligent, whether they are regular or ad hoc officials, including collation and returning Officers, must not be involved in forthcoming elections. RECs must also immediately initiate disciplinary action where prima facie evidence of wrongdoing has been established.
“No doubt, last week’s national elections raised a number of issues that require immediate, medium, and long-term solutions. The planning for the election was painstakingly done. However, its implementation came with challenges, some of them unforeseen.
He added that, “The issues of logistics, election technology (BVAS), the behaviour of some election personnel at different levels, and the attitude of some party agents and supporters added to the extremely challenging environment in which elections are usually held in Nigeria.
“We appreciate the sacrifice and doggedness of Nigerians and the dignity and maturity displayed by political leaders even in the context of divergent views about the election. A lot of lessons have been learnt.”
