By Starrys Obazei | March 8, 2023
starrys@ddnewsonline.com
Fighting for the preservation of elections data, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, on Tuesday, kicked against the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, used for the February 25 polls.
The Situation Room, which is a coalition of 70 Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, working in support of credible and transparent elections in the country, in a statement it issued in Abuja, said it was concerned about the question of preservation of data collected during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“Situation Room will like the INEC, clarify to the public how it intends to ensure that data collected in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, used in the election will be preserved for use in the review and audit of the elections.
“Electoral accountability requires that information collected during elections are preserved for use in the audit and review of the election and for accountability purposes.
“In the light of the disputations that have emerged and the controversy surrounding the 2023 general elections, Situation Room is asking INEC to ensure that its records and data related to the elections are held safely and securely to ensure its use for the purposes of scrutiny and accountability.
“Reports indicating that the BVAS may need to be reconfigured or even erased for the upcoming State Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections due on Saturday, 11th March 2023 is a serious cause for concern and we worry that this could further pose additional credibility questions over the integrity and conduct of the 2023 general elections”, the statement, which was signed by conveners of the CSOs, Ene Obi, Asma’u Joda and James Ugochukwu, further read.