A coalition of over 80 human rights organisations under the aegis of Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has raised concerns about reports indicating that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System may need to be reconfigured or even erased for the forthcoming governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.
While calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission to make its clarification known warned that it could “further pose additional credibility questions over the integrity and conduct of the 2023 general elections.”
The Conveners of NCSSR, Ene Obi,
Asma’u Joda and James Ugochukwu, raised the concerns in a statement on Tuesday evening.
The organisation was concerned about the question of preservation of data collected during the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25 2023.
The statement said, “Situation Room will like the Independent National Electoral Commission to clarify to the public how it intends to ensure that data collected in the BVAS used in the election will be preserved for use in the review and audit of the elections.
“Electoral accountability requires that information collected during elections are preserved for use in the audit and review of the election and for accountability purposes. In the light of the disputations that have emerged and the controversy surrounding the 2023 general elections, Situation Room is asking INEC to ensure that its records and data related to the election are held safely and securely to ensure its use for the purposes of scrutiny and accountability.
“Reports indicating that the BVAS may need to be reconfigured or even erased for the upcoming State Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections due on Saturday, March 11 2023 is a serious cause for concern and we worry that this could further pose additional credibility questions over the integrity and conduct of the 2023 general elections.”
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