Ekiti Poll: Yiaga Raises the Alarm Over PVC Uncertainty

Yiaga Africa has raised concerns over uncertainty surrounding the proposed downloadable Permanent Voter Card ahead of the forthcoming Ekiti State governorship election, warning that conflicting messages from electoral officials could undermine public confidence and create confusion on election day.

The election observation group raised the concern in a statement issued on  Saturday in Abuja signed by its executive director, Samson Itodo, following its observation of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s mock accreditation exercise conducted across parts of Ekiti State on Friday.

Yiaga Africa said while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System performed efficiently during the exercise, the absence of a clear position from INEC on the use of the downloadable PVC remained a major concern.

According to the organisation, observers deployed to centres in Ado-Ekiti and Ikere Local Government Areas reported that the mock accreditation commenced at 8:00 a.m. and closed at 2:30 p.m., with INEC officials attending to voters throughout the exercise

It noted that the BVAS functioned effectively in all locations visited, with the average accreditation time per voter taking less than one minute.

“This is a positive indication of the technical readiness of the accreditation technology for the governorship election,” the statement said.

However, Yiaga Africa observed that voter turnout at the centres visited was generally low.

It stated that as of 1:00 p.m., only 14 voters had presented themselves for accreditation across the four centres monitored

The group further reported that officials at the Ado 1 Dalimore centre disclosed that some persons who attempted to participate were not registered voters in the affected polling unit and were consequently denied accreditation.

According to Yiaga Africa, the development highlighted the urgent need for intensified voter education and targeted communication to ensure that citizens understand the purpose of the mock exercise and know their designated polling units.

The organisation expressed particular concern over contradictory information regarding the downloadable PVC initiative.

It said polling officials engaged during the exercise acknowledged awareness of the initiative but admitted they had not received any formal directive from INEC headquarters on whether the downloadable PVC would be accepted during the governorship election.

“In Ikere LGA, INEC officials informed our team that they had been told the downloadable PVC would not be used,” the statement noted.

“At the same time, some registered voters who visited INEC offices to collect their PVCs reportedly received assurances that a downloadable PVC would be made available on INEC’s website for use on election day, even though such an option was not yet accessible on the portal at the time of observation.”

Yiaga Africa also visited an INEC ad hoc staff training centre in Ikere, where members of the National Youth Service Corps and other election officials were undergoing training.

It revealed that although the training manual contained provisions relating to the use of the downloadable PVC, facilitators said they were not instructed to train officials on the relevant guidelines.

The group warned that the discrepancy between official training materials and instructions given to trainers could lead to inconsistency in the application of accreditation procedures on election day.

It subsequently urged INEC to immediately clarify its position on the downloadable PVC and communicate the decision consistently to electoral officials, political parties, civil society organisations and the electorate.

Yiaga Africa also called on the commission to align its training manuals with official policies, intensify voter education campaigns and sustain efforts to test and fine-tune the BVAS ahead of the election.

While commending INEC for conducting the mock accreditation exercise, the organisation stressed that transparent communication and early correction of identified gaps were critical to ensuring a credible, transparent and inclusive governorship poll in Ekiti State.