•Raises concerns over reports of threats, violence
Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
The Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, yesterday said 14 political parties would compete in the August 15 governorship election in Osun State.
He has also raised concerns over several reports of violence and threats, saying that insecurity is a direct assault on the sanctity of the ballot.
Speaking at an interactive session with media executives on the election at the INEC office in Osogbo, Amupitan said 32,000 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) would be recruited via the sanitised INECPRES portal.
This is as the state chapter of the Accord Party has urged the commission to urgently review the configuration of the BVAS machines and correct anomalies noticed at yesterday’s mock voting exercise.
Amupitan pointed out that the total number of registered voters stood at 2,339,233, in 3,763 polling units across 320 wards and 30 local government areas (LGAs).
Earlier yesterday, the INEC Chairman led a high-level delegation, including national commissioners, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), and directors, technical teams, and other senior officials, on an extensive field-level inspection of the ongoing Mock Accreditation Exercise across selected polling units in the state’s three senatorial districts.
Selected polling units were visited to ascertain the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
According to Amupitan, “the mock accreditation exercise is the quality assurance protocol. It is designed to stress-test our technological infrastructure under real-world field conditions before the actual election. We monitored two key metrics. The speed of accreditation: The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) demonstrated optimal field resilience.”
He said on average, it took between 30 seconds and two minutes to successfully verify a voter using either their fingerprints or facial recognition.
“The dual-authentication nature of the BVAS has significantly minimised the instances of non-verification, which was one of our primary goals.”
The chairman emphasized that, to ensure any sudden field failure is instantly neutralized, the commission has provisioned an upgraded pool of backup BVAS devices assigned to dedicated technical support engineers in every Registration Area (Ward).
He stressed: “Based on some concerns expressed by some political parties on the number of BVAS deployed to the state, we have increased the total number of BVAS for the election from 4,427 to 5,130 to service split polling unit areas with large numbers of voters in Ife East, Irewole, Egbedore, Ede, North Osogbo.”
“In the process, we increased the number of back-ups from 664 to 1,328 for quick intervention in case of any malfunction. What we saw today confirms that our technological defence against identity theft and results manipulation is robust and fully operational.”
Amupitan noted: “The commission is deeply concerned over several reports of violence and threats. We recognize that insecurity is a direct assault on the sanctity of the ballot, and a menace we are determined to overcome. As chairman, it weighs heavily on me that the environment for this election must be one of peace, not intimidation. Let me be clear: We will not allow the democratic will of the people to be subverted by fear or force. “
He remarked that INEC has recalibrated its security strategy, moving from reactive monitoring to proactive prevention, and to combat this menace, the commission has activated a robust security synergy through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
“We are not just monitoring threats; we are proactively deploying intelligence-led security measures to every polling unit and collation centre. We are working closely with the police and the armed forces to ensure that our staff, our materials, and most importantly, every single voter, are shielded from harm. We will meet any attempt to disrupt this election with the full, unyielding weight of the law.”
“We are engaging the highest levels of national security leadership to provide a neutral, professional, and impenetrable security blanket for our voters in Osun State. We are also engaging in local community mediation to de-escalate tensions before they reach the polls.
Beyond physical presence, we have integrated security protocols into our logistics chain to ensure the safe movement of materials. We are working tirelessly with all security agencies to create a ‘security corridor’ that allows for a peaceful, free, and credible election. “
Meanwhile, the Osun State chapter of the Accord Party has tasked INEC with urgently reviewing the configuration of the BVAS machines to correct anomalies observed during yesterday’s mock voting exercise.
In a statement issued and signed by the state Chairman of the party, Pastor Victor Akande, said: “We call for a comprehensive technical audit with direct involvement of relevant stakeholders. The errors that manifested today appear fundamental, and we seek that the commission address the technical challenges holistically.
“With less than two weeks until election day, INEC must rise to the occasion and demonstrate genuine readiness for reliable, fast and transparent tech applications in the electoral process.”