The Independent National Electoral Commission said it would use the Biometric Voter Accreditation System device in the Anambra State Governorship election on November 6, effectively ending the use of incident forms.
BVAS was used in a pilot phase for the Isoko South I State Constituency By-election in Delta State on September 11.
The device uses face and fingerprint recognition that is useful to prevent voter fraud, such as when one person uses another person’s Permanent Voter’s Card to vote using the incident form, according to INEC chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu.
Speaking at a stakeholder meeting on the Anambra State Governorship Election on Wednesday, Prof Yakubu also noted that the adoption of the BVAS device means incident forms problems are now a non-issue.
As a result, no voter will be allowed to vote unless they have a legitimate PVC and have been validly accredited electronically via the BVAS.
“On Saturday, November 6, 2021, Anambra State will make history as the first Governorship election in Nigeria in which the Commission will deploy the Biometric Voter Accreditation System device,” said Prof Yakubu.
“This new device replaces the Smart Card Reader used in previous elections since 2015. We are satisfied with the pilot deployment of the BVAS in the Isoko South I State Constituency By-election in Delta State on September 11, 2021.”
