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Osun Election: BVAS Failure Prevents Professor from Voting
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Osun Election: BVAS Failure Prevents Professor from Voting

From Vanguard · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A professor was unable to vote in the Osun State governorship election due to a failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to authenticate his identity.
  • The professor suspected changes in his appearance might have caused the BVAS device to fail recognizing his face or thumbprint.
  • Despite the issue, the professor described the overall voting process at his polling unit as peaceful and commended election officials.

Professor Olayinka Ajala was prevented from casting his ballot in the ongoing Osun State governorship election after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) failed to verify his identity. Ajala, an elector at Unit 10, Ward 10, Community Primary School, Oke-Ola 2, Mayfair Roundabout, in Ife East Local Government Area, found that the device could neither recognize his face nor capture his thumbprint.

the device could neither recognise his face nor capture his thumbprint.

โ€” Olayinka AjalaThe professor described the technical failure of the BVAS system that prevented him from voting.

Ajala, who has been registered as a voter since 2011, speculated that potential changes in his facial appearance over the years might have contributed to the authentication difficulties. Electoral officials made multiple attempts to verify his identity using the BVAS, but all were unsuccessful, ultimately barring him from participating in the election.

suspected that changes in his facial appearance over the years might have contributed to the difficulty in authenticating him.

โ€” Olayinka AjalaThe professor offered a possible reason for the BVAS failure to authenticate his identity.

Despite his personal experience, Ajala characterized the voting exercise at his polling unit as peaceful, noting a lack of rancor among voters. He also observed that the number of voters affected by BVAS authentication problems seemed relatively small compared to the total number of people at the polling location. Ajala extended commendation to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security personnel for their efforts in maintaining order and ensuring a peaceful voting process.

the voting exercise at his polling unit as peaceful, saying there was no rancour among voters.

โ€” Olayinka AjalaDespite his personal voting issue, the professor commented on the general atmosphere at his polling station.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Vanguard in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.