A civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, has raised concerns about flaws observed during the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) mock accreditation exercise in Ekiti State on Friday, June 12.

INEC held a mock exercise on Friday in six local government areas across three senatorial districts ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.

Yiaga Africa’s Executive Director, Samson Itodo, in a statement on Saturday, said low voter turnout, communication errors and inadequate voter education characterised the mock exercise.

Mr Itodo said the concerns followed observation across four centres in Ado-Ekiti and Ikere Local Government Areas, where the exercise took place.

According to him, the mock accreditation exercise commenced promptly, INEC officials were readily available, and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned effectively across all the centres Yiaga Africa’s observers visited.

Mr Itodo noted that despite the positive indication of the technical readiness of the accreditation technology for the governorship election, “voter turnout was generally low in the centres observed.”

“As of 1:00 p.m, only 14 voters had presented themselves for accreditation across the four centres visited,” he said.

He stated that several individuals who attended the mock exercise discovered they were not registered voters at the polling units they visited and could not participate.

He also expressed concern over the lack of clear communication regarding the proposed downloadable Permanent Voter Card (PVC) by voters ahead of the poll.

“Polling officials engaged during the mock exercise acknowledged awareness of the downloadable PVC initiative but indicated that they had not received any formal directive from INEC Headquarters on whether it would be accepted for the Ekiti governorship election,” he said.

Mr Itodo urged the electoral commission to promptly clarify its official position on the use of downloadable PVCs ahead of the election and to communicate it to electoral officials, political parties, civil society organisations, and the general public.

He urged INEC to ensure that all training materials, manuals, and instructions given to ad hoc staff align with INEC’s official policies on voter accreditation, particularly regarding downloadable PVCs.

He called on the electoral body to intensify voter education campaigns in Ekiti State, with a focus on the correct use of BVAS, the location of polling units and the acceptable requirements on election day.

“Sustain efforts to test and fine-tune BVAS and other election technologies, while putting in place contingency plans to address any unforeseen technical challenges,” Mr Itodo said.

He added that “robust testing, transparent communication and early rectification of gaps” are essential for building public confidence in voters ahead of the forthcoming election slated for Saturday, June 20.