Tag: BVAS

  • The crucial role of technology in Nigeria’s Presidential elections

    The crucial role of technology in Nigeria’s Presidential elections

    The 2023 presidential election was held on March 18, 2023, and the contenders had wrapped up their campaigns.

    Before the election, Nigerians must have a thorough understanding of the electoral voting system in order to participate in the process of seeing election outcomes.

    The Independent National Election Commission has gradually detailed the voting system, what to expect, and how voters can determine whether it is free and fair using the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

    Read also: Nigerian experts build Collate, a live result-viewing technology to prevent election rigging

    IReV protects election votes with technology

    According to a statement from INEC on IReV, the electoral referee attempts to use technology to boost the validity of elections and ensure the safety of voters who are participating in the voting process.

    Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has made it a priority during the past three elections to employ cutting-edge technological measures to bolster the credibility and security of the voting process.

    This has lately gotten worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s threat to public safety, which has forced an inevitable shift towards distant exchanges in the political process rather than face-to-face ones.

    Along with the Bimodal Verification Accreditation System tool, this will function together. Upon the completion of the accreditation procedure and voting, the BVAS will take a picture of the vote totals and upload it to the IReV site. In 36 states, it will be carried out at every voting location.

    How does the INEC Result Viewing Homepage work?

    Creating an account on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to monitor election results

    In order to verify the election results, you must first create an account on the INEC result viewing platform. The registration process is not too difficult. All you need is some basic contact information and a functioning email. The email address entered in the form receives an email confirming account activation.

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    You are immediately logged into the portal after entering the activation code on the website. This election viewing facility is available for elections other than the presidential one. On the first page, there are several election types, from the presidential election to the councillor election.

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    On the following page, it displays the election results for the upcoming presidential election in the various states and the time the results were last uploaded. You can choose the type of election for which you want to view the results.

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    To limit your search to a certain state, click it. Two adjacent parts are on the following page. On the left, a refresh button results statistics and the total number of results submitted are all visible.

    You may view the state’s LGAs and their respective ward counts in the middle section. The number of polling units from each ward and LGA that have turned in their results can also be kept track of.

    You can choose to keep an even closer check on specific locations by selecting the Visit Ward option next to each LGA. After clicking that link, you’ll be taken to a new website where you can monitor the evolving polling place totals.

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    The results papers are uploaded to the website in PDF format by the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System tool. After all polling places have turned in their online election result sheets, INEC will use the results from all LGAs and states to determine the winner of the presidential election.

  • CSO Launches Intelligence Technology To Ensure Credible 2023 Elections In Nigeria

    CSO Launches Intelligence Technology To Ensure Credible 2023 Elections In Nigeria

    Connected Development (CODE), a Civil Society Organization (CSO), has released a pre-election security assessment report and electoral intelligence technologies for the monitoring of the 2023 elections.

    At the unveiling in Abuja, Mr Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive Officer CODE, stated that the study titled “Same Currency for Violence; Troubling Elections” and the EI electoral monitoring tool were initiatives under its “Uzabe” platform.

    According to Lawal, CODE actively participated in election observation in Nigeria’s 2015 and 2019 general elections, deploying over 10,000 observers in both polls, using the Uzabe platform.

    He stated that during the 2023 elections, CODE would deploy 20,000 community-based observers to submit real-time situation reports from local polling stations using two of its channels to provide structured and unstructured data, leveraging the Uzabe platform.

    Read also: NCC announces toll-free incident hotline for 2023 presidential election

    CODE’s Concerns About Nigeria’s 2023 Elections

    Lawal explained that the group is focused on Nigeria’s 2023 election processes to ensure free and fair polls. The group also expressed concern about the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign approach to reduce corrupt practices during election and the resultant effect on voter turnout.

    “CODE is not interested in the result of the elections but interested in the processes of the elections to ensure that INEC’s guidelines are adequately met in this election.

    “The high rate of insecurity as well as the cash crunch due to the Central Bank’s currency redesign policy has escalated the tension causing growing fears, and might impact voter turnout, and as well cause voter apathy among Nigerians.

    “We know that corrupt politicians were planning to leverage on this situation to further induce voters, and we are scared that Nigerians may have no option than to sell their votes on election day because of the impact of access to naira.

    “One area we are also concerned about is the fact that INEC, looking at the Nigerian Electoral Act 2022 as amended, has the powers to postpone this election on the possibility of breach of peace and security.”

    Lawal stated that CODE was also collaborating with Meta to assist combat fake news on social media that might circulate on election day.

    He explained that CODE would work with security agencies and other stakeholders to use the platform to gain security insights and enhance security circumstances. He said the CODE will have a situation room on Friday, February 24th, which will include additional CSOs.

    Also addressing, Mr. Emmanuel Njoku, Director of Democracy and Governance, CODE, advocated for an increase in voting duration in Nigeria from six to eight hours.

    Njoku stated that during the just ended 2022 Elections, Kenya used technology comparable to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

    He stated that Kenya’s voting populace of approximately 22 million had 11-12 hours to vote.

    “Still, Nigeria with a larger population of registered voters allocated only six hours for voters to carry out their civic responsibility.”

    Likewise, CODE hosted a roundtable discussion with media and civil society organizations to encourage collaboration on effective election coverage and reporting in 2023.

    The roundtable discussion focused on how CSOs and media professionals could protect the integrity of the electoral process and the upcoming elections.

    Directors and representatives from several CSOs attended the event, including the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).

    SERAP, Accountability Lab, Radio Now, Citizen FM, Ready to Lead Africa, and other renowned media and civil society organizations were among the others.

    CODE and media organizations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to facilitate cooperation efforts to combat fake news, misinformation, and disinformation that have the potential to severely impact the 2023 elections.

    Nigeria Negotiates with Potential Partners on Best Management System for eNaira

    Nigeria’s Upcoming General Election Dates

    Nigerians will head to the polls on Saturday 25th February to elect their next president amid pressure of cash scarcity. On Saturday, 11th March 2023, gubernatorial elections will be held across 28 states of the Federation, as well as state Houses of Assembly elections in the 36 states in Nigeria.

    Later in the year three other governorship polls will be conducted, while possible rerun elections for regularly planned elections that were cancelled are expected to be held.