Sowore queries effectiveness of BVAS for 2023 elections

The African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has expressed doubt about the effectiveness of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in preventing rigging in the 2023 elections.

Sowore, who spoke during in an interview on Politics Hub on Friday, said the elections might be hindered by insecurity in many parts of the country.

He said the July 16 governorship election in Osun State was marred by over-voting despite the deployment of BVAS.

The activist, therefore, charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible elections next year.

Sowore said: “I do not expect a free and fair election. It’s not the equipment that organises free and fair elections, it’s the personnel that are involved in organising elections.

“In the case of 2023, it (the fault) started by putting in place an INEC leadership, at the federal level, federal commissioners are card-carrying members of the ruling party.

“As a matter of fact, there was a time the president nominated his spokesperson, Lauretta Onochie, to be on that board until there was some sort of outcry, and she was dropped. But that does not stop the ruling party from still putting their people there.

READ ALSO: INEC warns politicians on plots to bypass BVAs in 2023 elections

“It’s the credibility of INEC that matters. Even in Osun State, where they were praising themselves that they did well, the tribunal proceedings are showing that there was over-voting.

“ There was BVAS in Osun State, but there was also over-voting in the state. So why are they talking about BVAS as if it was one magic bullet that will solve the problem of election rigging?

“People in the South-East don’t want to be in Nigeria anymore and they’ve been engaging in war with the Nigerian security services. As a result, a lot of people can no longer trust they will be safe on election day.

“See what they’ve been doing to INEC in Imo State and all other places. They are not even allowing campaigns to hold in states of this region.

“If you go to the South-South, militancy has kind of returned given the number of barrels of crude oil stolen on daily basis. If you go to the South-West, there are issues of nationhood as well. There are people who are Yoruba nation agitators and they said they don’t want elections.”

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