Elections Administration and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) Technology: Interrogating the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Election

Abstract

To mitigate electoral challenges in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deploys Smart Card Readers (SRC) to conduct the 2015, 2019 elections. However, the SCR had challenges, such as the inability to authenticate voter cards and verify biometric data. Hence, INEC introduced Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in 2023. Relying on data generated using the macro qualitative and eclectic approach (Technological Acceptance Model and Innovation Diffusion Theory), the paper assesses the acceptance, challenges of BVAS and the relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trial-ability and the observability of BVAS during the 2023 presidential elections. The findings reveal that INEC's failure to upload the election results on the Result Viewing (IREV) portal in real-time was a significant setback, leading to doubt about the credibility of the elections. This failure was not only a breach of the 2022 Electoral Act but also of INEC's guidelines. Therefore, the paper recommends an effective way of administering elections in Nigeria using technology-based devices