The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) says they won’t use BVAS for the Local Government elections on Saturday, September 28.
The shocking news came from Anthony Nnalue, the Commissioner in charge of Information and Logistics at ANSIEC, during a program organized by the IPCRC on Thursday in Awka.
The program was set up for official election observers and media folks.
Nnalue said the BVAS couldn’t be trusted after it flopped in earlier elections.
He said the commission would use manual accreditation because it’s more reliable.
“We will not use BVAS but manual. BVAS is not reliable; it has distorted the electoral process in Nigeria. We do not want a situation where election results are tampered with,” he said.
Nnalue also guaranteed that election materials would get there on time, no more delays in the state.
He mentioned that the non-sensitive materials were already heading to the local government councils and they’ve trained over 5,700 ad-hoc staff to run the elections in the state’s polling units.
”We are fully prepared and ready for the Saturday election, in terms of security, materials and other logistics.
“Elections will not be held in Nnewi South, Orumba South and Idemili South. Voters from those areas will be voting at the council headquarters. We do not want to risk the lives of both officers and voters.
“We urge the electorate to come out en masse and vote, your vote will count,” he said.
Chris Azor, the IPCRC Coordinator, also stressed the need for politicians and voters to stay alert and avoid vote buying, violence, gender bias, and excessive voting.
Azor said security agencies should stay neutral and respect human rights and the law.
He also mentioned that they’re gonna have a Situation Room in Awka for coordinating and reporting in real-time.
“As accredited observers, we are committed to ensuring a free, fair, credible, and peaceful local government election in Anambra state,” he said.