INEC Submits BVAS Machines As Edo Election Petition Tribunal Reviews Over-voting Claims

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used during the Edo State Governorship Election to the Governorship Election Tribunal.

The election, held on September 21, 2024, was contested by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following a victory by Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This move comes after the PDP secured a subpoena for the BVAS machines, having initially faced INEC’s refusal to release them voluntarily.

The data retrieved from these machines is now under scrutiny by the Tribunal, with early indications of discrepancies between the number of accredited voters and the final results declared in several polling units.

The PDP has alleged that over-voting occurred, asserting that the announced results surpassed the number of accredited voters in multiple areas.

During Thursday’s proceedings, a witness from Akoko Edo, serving as the Ward 9 collation agent, testified that while the election was conducted properly in the ward’s 13 polling units, the results collated at the ward level differed from those uploaded on INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IREV).

He further claimed that a duplicate set of results was presented at the collation centre, which did not align with the polling unit records, leading him to refuse to sign the result sheet.

Additionally, a witness from Oredo Local Government presented evidence that the final results declared by INEC in Ward 1 did not match either the polling unit results or the IREV data.

The Tribunal accepted the certified true copies (CTCs) of documents submitted by the PDP, which point to potential discrepancies between the official results and the actual polling unit data.

The inclusion of the BVAS machines as evidence marks a crucial step in the petition, as the data within these machines will provide vital insight into the accreditation process.

The BVAS logs offer a verifiable record of accredited voters at each polling unit, serving as an essential reference for evaluating the election results.

Legal analysts have suggested that the admission of the BVAS machines is a significant boost to Asue Ighodalo’s petition, particularly since the Supreme Court has recognized BVAS as the primary source of accreditation data.

The Tribunal’s examination of the BVAS data will be key to assessing the PDP’s claims of over-voting and determining the legitimacy of the election results.

The APC and Governor Okpebholo’s legal team are expected to scrutinize the evidence closely as they prepare their defence.