There was confusion at polling unit 24-10-06-051 in the Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area of Lagos State after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine showed that female voters were registered as males on the system.
This disrupted the accreditation exercise which commenced at around 9 AM at the unit, as the female voters could not be accredited, while there was no issue with the records of male voters.
Nairametrics gathered that some voters insisted that females should be allowed to vote since their names and pictures on the BVAS matched. But the Presiding Officer insisted he could not accredit them with the gender disparity.
On the list of voters pasted at the unit, gender was correct, and likewise on their voter’s cards.
INEC to the rescue: The situation turned into chaos until the police officer at the unit requested the electoral officer to call senior officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for further advice on the situation.
- Two INEC officials arrived at the scene about 30 minutes after and decided that the affected female voters be accredited since their other details matched the BVAS machine. This resolved the issue and voting continued at the unit which has about 150 registered voters.
- The accreditation and voting went on smoothly, thereafter, without any hiccups or failures on the machine.
The BVAS: Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters – using the voters’ fingerprints – to prove that they are eligible to vote at a particular polling unit.
BVAS usage entails either scanning the barcode/QR code on the PVC/Voter’s register or entering the last six digits of the Voter Identity Number or typing in the last name of the voter by the Assistant Presiding Officer (APO 1) to verify and authenticate the voter.
