BVAS Issues Reported at Polling Units in Osun Elections

Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices are having issues at several polling units in Osun State during the ongoing governorship election, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) Situation Room has reported.

The Situation Room shared that problems with the devices were reported in Ilesa West, Ife Central, and Egbedore Local Government Areas.

At 1:34 p.m., the BVAS failed at Polling Unit 024, Transformer Junction, Ofatedo Registration Area, Egbedore Local Government Area. The device stopped working because its battery was low. Some voters offered power banks to help keep the machine running.

Earlier, at 1:18 p.m., a voter named Omolade Adeoye said he could not vote at Polling Unit 004, Open Space Irebami Line 1 (A), Ilare II Registration Area, Ife Central Local Government Area. The BVAS could not read his Permanent Voter’s Card or verify his face.

At 1:07 p.m., there was another BVAS issue at Polling Unit 010, Ereja Registration Area, Ilesa West Local Government Area. The BVAS was stuck and could not be turned off because the Presiding Officer had not exported or backed up the data.

A long queue formed at the polling unit as voters grew tired of waiting.

Earlier in the day, the CJID Situation Room noted similar problems in Ifedayo, Oriade, and Ilesa East local government areas.

At about 9:06 a.m., the BVAS failed at Polling Unit 007, Ora Maternity, Asaoni Registration Area, Ifedayo Local Government Area.

At 9:54 a.m., the BVAS was capturing voters very slowly at Polling Unit 003, the Apostolic Primary School, Iwoye, in Oriade Local Government Area.

Another issue was reported at about 10:02 a.m. at Polling Unit 009, Kajola Junction, Registration Area 02, Ilesa East Local Government Area.

By 10:04 a.m., the BVAS could not capture the faces of many elderly voters at the polling unit. Some voters lost patience after waiting in line, and some elderly voters reportedly left.

These device problems come even after INEC announced it had deployed 4,427 BVAS devices for the election.

The commission said this number included 3,763 devices sent to polling units and 664 backup devices.

INEC stated that the backup devices made up a 15 percent operational reserve, and they were located at Registration Area Centres with RACTECH officers to solve hardware issues.