In preparation for the upcoming off-cycle governorship elections scheduled for November 11, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will conduct a mock accreditation exercise on October 14, 2023, in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states.
This announcement was made in a statement signed by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee at INEC. The mock accreditation will involve the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the uploading of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
The statement from INEC reads: “The Commission met today Monday 25th September 2023 and, among other issues, reviewed the preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States scheduled for Saturday 11th November 2023.
“As was the case in recent off-cycle Governorship elections, the Commission will conduct a mock accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and upload polling units results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
“The test run will take place simultaneously in the three States on Saturday 14th October 2023 from 8.30am to 2.30pm.
“A maximum of three polling units in each Senatorial District have been identified across each of the three States, covering a total of nine Senatorial Districts and 27 polling units.”
INEC emphasized that the lessons learned from this exercise would be valuable in ensuring a smooth and efficient process on the actual election day. The commission also provided detailed information about the polling units selected for the mock accreditation, including their locations by Local Government Area, Registration Area/Ward, Delimitation Code, and the number of registered voters. INEC appealed to registered voters in the chosen polling units to participate with their Permanent Voters’ Cards.
It’s important to note that the mock accreditation exercise is purely for testing purposes and not the actual election. The collection of Permanent Voter Cards for eligible voters commenced on September 11, 2023, and will continue until October 9, 2023.