2023: We are fully ready, assures INEC

• Says every valid vote will count

• Campaigns must end 48 hours to poll

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has reassured that it is fully ready for the 2023 general election, assuring that every valid vote will count.
The Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute (BEI) of INEC, Prof Abdullahi Abdu Zuru gave the assurance on monday in Abuja at the training of party agents by the commission.
Prof Zuru equally reiterated that the will of the people will prevail in the forthcoming general elections.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are slated for February 25, while the governorship election (in 28 States) and States’ Houses of Assembly election will hold on March 11, this year.
The Chairman of the BEI restated that INEC is committed to the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter verification, authentication and accreditation.
According to Prof Zuru, “The Commission is determined to ensure that every valid vote will count, the will of the people will prevail, and the 2023 General Election will be free, fair, credible, inclusive, transparent and verifiable.
“Therefore, be reassured that we are indeed very ready for the 2023 General Election”, he said.
Continuing, the Chairman of BEI added, “May I at this juncture, reiterate that the Commission is committed to the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter verification, authentication and accreditation.
“To ensure absolute transparency, the BVAS will also be used to upload accreditation data and election results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real-time on Election Day to enable all Nigerians and foreigners to follow the election as it happens.
“To this end, we just concluded nationwide Mock Accreditation Exercise on Saturday 4th February 2023 where we tested the field performance of the BVAS.
“The results of the test were very successful and response of Nigerians across the country very pleasing”, he stated
Prof Zuru restated that the last day for campaigns by Political Parties remains Thursday 23rd Feb., 2023 for Presidential/National Assembly and Thursday 9th March, 2023 for Governorship/State Houses of Assembly.
His words, “The Last day for campaigns by Political Parties: Thursday 23rd Feb., 2023 for Presidential/National Assembly & Thursday 9th March, 2023 for Governorship/State Houses of Assembly and Date of Election: Saturday, 25th Feb., 2023 for Presidential/National Assembly & Saturday 11th March, 2023 for Governorship/State Houses of Assembly”, he explained.