INEC upgrades BVAS to prevent election result manipulation

INEC Chairman says new safeguards tested in recent elections, emphasizes integrity for 2027 polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced major upgrades to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to prevent manipulation of election results. INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan revealed the enhancements on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting with resident electoral commissioners and the inauguration of Chukwu Joseph as the REC for Abia State.

Strengthening the result management system

Amupitan explained that the upgrades are designed to secure the result collation and transmission process to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Key features include:

• Presiding officers must capture and upload an image of completed Form EC8A to IReV.
• Party scores are entered directly into BVAS, which performs internal validation to flag overvoting and ensure mathematical consistency.
• Any discrepancies prevent finalization until corrected.

“These safeguards address the greatest threat to our electoral process, which is not voting itself but the collation of results at multiple levels,” Amupitan said.

Testing and verification

The upgrades were successfully tested during the FCT Area Council election and in Kano and Rivers State constituencies. Preliminary results indicated that an average of 97% of votes were correctly uploaded to IReV.

Allegations of result manipulation at the Kuroko Health Centre polling unit in Kwali Area Council were investigated and traced to a clerical error by a presiding officer, which was promptly corrected.

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INEC Preparing for 2027 elections

Amupitan said INEC would soon review regulations and issue a revised timetable for the 2027 general elections following the enactment of the Electoral Act 2026 on February 13. He also announced plans to:

• Conduct a thorough revalidation and clean-up of the voter register.
• Continue the second phase of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) until April 17, with the overall exercise concluding on August 30.

“Although no election is perfect, Nigerians are watching closely. There is no room for error or excuse in this crucial process,” he emphasized.

The upgrades aim to enhance transparency, safeguard electoral integrity, and strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s voting systems ahead of the next general elections.