The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the people of its preparedness for August 15 Osun State governorship election.
The commission said a total of 2,038,039 voters have been registered for the election, out of which over 1.8 million have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Fifteen candidates are vying for the election, including 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 intensified voter sensitization across the state, targeting youths, women, persons with disabilities, trade-based organizations and other grassroots groups.
He called on eligible voters to come out and exercise their franchise peacefully. Various groups have assured the commission of their readiness to take part in the poll.
One of the major features of the election is the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for accreditation of voters.
Ariyo said; “manual accreditation would not be allowed, adding that voters would be electronically accredited thru BVAS using facial recognition or fingerprints.
He said the system would also help 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.
The official said BVAS is not electronic voting and stressed that what Nigeria has now is electronic accreditation and not electronic voting.
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He said the electronic ECV system by INEC would complement the manual election documentation process and help reduce errors by providing information on registered and accredited voters.
The system would allow election officials to spot discrepancies and correct errors recorded by hand, he said.
Ariyo said; “the commission had taken steps to prevent a recurrence of the technical challenges experienced during accreditation in the Ekiti Governorship election.
He said two weeks to the Osun poll, the INEC conducted a mock accreditation exercise to test its systems and identify possible challenges.
He said an error discovered during the exercise was corrected immediately, which has increased the commission’s confidence in its preparedness for Saturday’s election.
Ariyo also assured Muslim women wearing hijab that they would not be marginalized, saying female election officials would assist them in ‘biometric verification where necessary’.
“I want to tell every voter in Osun to come out en masse on Saturday, come out and elect their own leader by themselves. “They shouldn’t let a few people decide their fate,” he said.
