In preparation for the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it would conduct mock accreditation of registered voters on Saturday, February 4, 2023, which was made known on Friday by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in a meeting with all the 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) across the country, adding that the exercise is meant to test the efficacy of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly scheduled to hold on February 25, 2023.
He said, “For this reason and in readiness for nationwide deployment, the Commission is conducting a mock accreditation of voters similar to what was done ahead of the recent Ekiti and Osun State governorship elections.
“The mock accreditation will hold on Saturday 4th February 2023 in 436 Polling Units (PUs) nationwide. 12 polling units have been designated in each state of the federation 4 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the equality of the country’s 109 Senatorial Districts for the exercise.
“A comprehensive list of the polling units, including their names and PU Code numbers, as well as their distribution by state, senatorial district, local government, and registration area (Ward) will be uploaded on the Commission’s website shortly.”
He appealed to registered voters with Permanent Voters Card (PVC) to be available at designated polling units for the scheduled mock exercise.
The INEC Chairman added, “Doing so will help to reassure the public of the robustness of our system and to strengthen our processes ahead of the general election.
“Civil society organizations, the media, and the general public are welcome to observe the process. At the end of the exercise, the 436 BVAS machines involved will be reconfigured before they are deployed for the general election.”
