FCT council polls: We’ll review performance of BVAS, says INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it plans to review the performance and functionalities of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

Yahaya Bello, the INEC resident electoral commissioner (REC) in the federal capital territory (FCT), said this in an interview with NAN on Saturday.

The FCT council polls took place on Saturday, and the BVAS malfunctioned in some polling units across different area councils during the election.

As a result, the election process was stalled in those units, leaving voters stranded.

Speaking on the development, Bello said the commission had observed challenges faced by voters due to non-functionality of the BVAS, adding that efforts are ongoing to address them.

“Equally, there was also the misunderstanding about what to do with the BVAS,” he said.

“The election is the only area council election in this country that is being   conducted by INEC and it invested heavily in the preparation for the election.

“We have registration area centre technicians trained in order to respond  to any malfunctioning of the BVAS and provided transportation for them for swift response.”

Bello also said six INEC RECs and three national commissioners were drafted to the election to ensure its success.

“We have upcoming elections. So, between now and then, the issues would be looked into to avoid future challenges,” he said.