As part of preparations for the November 11, 2023 off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will conduct a mock accreditation of voters using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
INEC, in a press statement issued on Monday by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Sam Olumekuni, said the mock accreditation exercise will hold simultaneously in all three states on Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM and will be coupled with the uploading of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
To facilitate this test run, a maximum of three polling units in each Senatorial District have been identified across Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States. This totals nine Senatorial Districts and 27 polling units. The insights gained from the mock accreditation will be instrumental in ensuring a smooth and efficient process on the actual election day, INEC said.
The commission said it has taken measures to provide comprehensive information about the selected polling units, including their locations by Local Government Area (LGA), Registration Area (RA)/Ward, Delimitation Code, and the number of registered voters, noting that the information has been made available on its website and social media platforms.
INEC urged all registered voters within these selected polling units to participate in the mock accreditation exercise. It requested the registered voters to bring their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) as part of the test process, stressing that the event is solely a practice accreditation exercise and not the official election.
