Yiaga Africa has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a comprehensive technical audit of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System following malfunctions recorded during Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
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The civil society organisation said the audit should establish the causes of the technical failures and guide improvements in the testing, maintenance and technical support of BVAS devices ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In its statement on the conduct and outcome of the Osun election released on Sunday, Yiaga Africa said it deployed 300 stationary observers and 32 mobile observers across the state’s 30 local government areas under its Process and Results Verification for Transparency methodology.
Its findings were based on reports received from 289 of the 300 sampled polling units, representing 96 per cent of the sample.
According to Yiaga Africa, BVAS devices were deployed to all polling units observed and functioned properly in 80 per cent of them, while technical problems were recorded in the remaining 20 per cent.
“However, in 20% of polling units, the BVAS malfunctioned, and it was fixed,” the organisation said.
Yiaga Africa said the malfunctions did not occur on a scale capable of undermining the integrity of the election, despite concerns that had arisen from the earlier mock accreditation exercise.
It, however, noted that some voters, particularly elderly persons, experienced difficulties with fingerprint and facial biometric authentication.
The organisation said 11 per cent of polling units recorded cases where voters whose Permanent Voter Cards had been successfully verified were nevertheless denied accreditation because BVAS could not authenticate their fingerprints or facial biometrics.
Yiaga Africa also assessed the use of downloadable PVCs introduced under the Electoral Act 2026.
According to the organisation, voters presented downloadable PVCs in 23 per cent of the sampled polling units, with most of them successfully accredited.
It said, however, that some voters using downloadable PVCs were denied accreditation in seven per cent of polling units where the digital cards were presented.
Yiaga Africa consequently called on INEC to issue uniform and binding guidelines to presiding officers on the acceptance and use of downloadable PVCs for voter accreditation.
“INEC should issue binding, uniform guidance to presiding officers on the acceptance of downloadable PVCs and usage for voter accreditation,” the organisation said.
On election logistics, Yiaga Africa said INEC largely succeeded in deploying personnel and materials on time despite the last-minute court-ordered inclusion of the Social Democratic Party in the election, which required the commission to reprint ballot papers and result sheets.
The organisation said accreditation and voting had commenced in 48 per cent of observed polling units by 8:30 a.m., increasing to 96 per cent by 9:30 a.m.
Yiaga Africa, however, also raised concerns over the performance of the INEC Result Viewing Portal during the election.
It noted that uploads to IReV stalled between about 8:48 p.m. and 10 p.m. at 3,292 polling-unit results, leaving 471 results outstanding before transmission eventually resumed at about 11:50 p.m.
“This prolonged interruption requires a clear explanation from INEC. Sustaining public confidence in IReV requires not only timely and complete uploads but also proactive disclosure whenever delays occur,” Yiaga Africa said.
The organisation maintained that electronic transmission and publication of polling-unit results remained an important safeguard for electoral transparency.
It said its observers found that presiding officers transmitted Form EC8A through BVAS in 85 per cent of the sampled polling units.
According to Yiaga Africa, the Osun election demonstrated that INEC could attain a high operational standard when elections were adequately resourced and subjected to close monitoring.
It nevertheless urged the commission to use lessons from the election to strengthen its operational standards ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Yiaga Africa specifically called on INEC to publish the causes of the biometric authentication failures experienced during the Osun election and disclose the remedial measures being put in place to prevent a recurrence.
“INEC should publish the causes of the biometric authentication failures recorded during accreditation, together with the remedial measures to be applied in 2027,” it said.
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