Osun Election: Campaign council demands INEC fix BVAS malfunctions amid voter frustration

The Imole Campaign Council has demanded that Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately address reported malfunctions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) across Osun State. The council stated it has received numerous complaints about BVAS failures, calling the situation a significant threat to voters' ability to participate in the ongoing governorship election.

Pelumi Olajengbesi, the campaign council's spokesman, highlighted that many of the affected local government areas are strongholds of the Accord Party and Governor Ademola Adeleke. This raises serious concerns about the potential impact of the technical failures on voters in these specific regions. The council pointed to the governor's own polling unit, Unit 009, Ward 02, Agbogunde Sagba, in Ede North Local Government Area, where BVAS machines allegedly malfunctioned or operated very slowly.

According to the council, the delays frustrated voters who waited for hours under the sun to be accredited. The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) Situation Room, an independent election-monitoring platform, reportedly confirmed BVAS failures in several local government areas, including Egbedore, Ife Central, and Ilesa West. The council also alleged that some machines failed to capture the faces of elderly voters, causing them to leave polling queues after extended waits.

The campaign council emphasized that prolonged accreditation delays could effectively disenfranchise eligible voters if the technical problems are not resolved before voting closes. They urged INEC to deploy technical personnel and replacement equipment as needed to ensure all affected voters have adequate opportunity to cast their ballots. "Anything apart from this is an automatic disenfranchisement, which is not acceptable and a slap on democracy," the statement declared. INEC has not yet publicly responded to the specific locations cited by the campaign council or detailed any additional measures being deployed.

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Anything apart from this is an automatic disenfranchisement, which is not acceptable and a slap on democracy.