INEC Upgrades BVAS to Strengthen Election Result Integrity

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced enhanced technological safeguards to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to prevent election result manipulation, according to the commission’s chairman, Joash Amupitan.

Amupitan disclosed this during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja, stating that the upgrade was aimed at improving result management and ensuring the security of data transmitted to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He explained that the new system requires presiding officers to capture and upload images of completed result forms while also entering party scores directly into BVAS devices during collation.

According to him, the system conducts automatic validation checks to ensure that the total votes recorded do not exceed the number of accredited voters, adding that any attempt at overvoting would be flagged and blocked.

The INEC chairman noted that the technology had been tested during recent elections in the FCT Area Council polls as well as constituencies elections in Kano State and Rivers State, where results were successfully uploaded to the IReV platform.

Amupitan also dismissed claims of result manipulation at a polling unit in the Kwali Area Council, explaining that an investigation revealed the issue was a clerical error involving a presiding officer who recorded 122 votes instead of 121 for a party.

He further said the commission is preparing to review electoral guidelines following the passage of the Electoral Act 2026 and will soon release a revised timetable for the 2027 general election in Nigeria.

INEC also announced plans to commence a nationwide voter register revalidation exercise aimed at removing inconsistencies and improving the credibility of the electoral roll ahead of the 2027 polls.

The commission reiterated that while no electoral system is completely error-free, it remains committed to ensuring transparency, accuracy, and public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.