INEC Confirms Mock Trial of BVAS Ahead of FCT Area Council Elections

Abuja, Nigeria — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it conducted a comprehensive mock trial of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.

Wilfred Ifogah, INEC’s Deputy Director of Information and Publicity, revealed the exercise on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, stressing that the test was carried out in 289 polling units across the FCT.

BVAS Update Tested for Accuracy

According to Ifogah, the mock trial ensured that the updated BVAS could accurately validate voting data at the polling unit level. After results are tabulated on the EC8A form, the presiding officer enters the figures into BVAS.

“If the scanned image of the EC8A form, containing tabulated results, does not align with the accredited voter numbers and figures already recorded in BVAS, the system will not process the submission until accuracy is verified,” he said.

This marks a significant upgrade, as the BVAS now goes beyond simply capturing and transmitting photos; it actively cross-checks scanned data against pre-recorded information to enhance result integrity.

Ensuring Transparent Elections

INEC’s announcement comes after the just-concluded FCT Area Council elections, aimed at reassuring stakeholders and the electorate that the commission is leveraging technology to ensure credible, transparent, and verifiable results.

“The mock trial was critical to validate the new BVAS features and to ensure election data is reliable and tamper-proof,” Ifogah added.