The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed the noticeable disparities in the off-season governorship election figures posted to its result-viewing portal on internet connection.

Through a statement signed today by Mohammed Haruna, National Commissioner and member of Information and Voter Education Committee, the electoral umpire denied media reports suggesting that it compromised the data for the election held in Kogi State last Saturday.

It attributed the differences shown in the number of accredited voters recorded on result sheets and the figures on the website to poor internet connection on its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

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FULL STATEMENT

“ALLEGED MANIPULATION OF ACCREDITATION DATA ON IReV

“The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) attention has been drawn to some media reports alleging that the Commission was tampering with the accredited figures of voters in the Kogi Governorship Election results uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

“However, these reports are unfounded. For the avoidance of doubt, the most accurate and up-to-date Voters’ Accreditation Data is available in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which is used for the authentication and accreditation of registered voters at various polling units on election day.

“It automatically retains the accreditation data of all voters. The BVAS is designed to primarily work offline without Internet connectivity, which facilitates faster and seamless authentication and accreditation experience for voters.

“However, when its application is active or in use, depending on the strength of its connection to the Internet, the BVAS automatically exports the accreditation data to the Accreditation Backend System (ABS).

“This exportation of data does not happen when the device’s application is inactive or when the internet connectivity is poor. The same experience applies to a situation where more than one BVAS gadget is used at a polling unit with more than 1,250 registered voters.

“This could be compared to a situation when poor network services delay the delivery of an SMS sent from one individual to another through a mobile phone. At the close of poll, Presiding Officers are expected to press the data exportation button on the BVAS to ensure that all the accreditation data are exported to the ABS.

READ ALSO: Polling Unit With 48 Accredited Voters Records 1078 Votes in Bayelsa

“This process, referred to as synchronization and which is ongoing, could lead to changes in the accreditation figures as more data flow in to update the existing figures. This is the basis for the caveat provided on the IReV portal, regarding the accreditation figures. The accreditation data cannot be changed on the BVAS after the close of poll. The public should disregard the misleading report and misinformation.“

FIJ had reported how a polling unit with only 48 accredited voters in Ward 4, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, recorded a total of 1078 cast votes. According to information on the IReV portal, the Isele-Ama Open Space Polling Unit had only 48 accredited voters, but the result sheet uploaded for the unit showed 1098 accreditations and 1078 votes.

The commission, however, indicated on the IReV portal that the accreditation figures may not be final until the synchronisation of the devices used in the polling units is completed.