The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced it will deploy over 7,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices for the Anambra State governorship election scheduled for November 8, 2025.
The electoral machines are set to be distributed across the state’s 5,729 polling units. The Commission has also scheduled a comprehensive mock accreditation and test run of both the BVAS and the real-time uploading of results to the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) for October 25. This trial aims to test the functionality of the devices and ensure optimal performance ahead of the main electoral exercise.
According to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Queen Elizabeth Agwu, approximately 2.5 million registered voters and 16 political parties are set to participate in the election. Speaking at the Situation Room Dialogue Session/Strategy meeting in Abuja, the REC further disclosed that about 140,000 of the registered voters are new registrants.
The Commission’s Acting Chairman, May Agbamuche-Mbu, affirmed the Commission’s readiness during its meeting in Abuja, stating that INEC is prepared to conduct a smooth election in Anambra State. She noted that all non-sensitive materials have been deployed and voter sensitisation is currently ongoing.
“The commission has been working assiduously and making arrangements for the successful conduct of the Anambra State governorship election and has had several engagements with the security agencies at national, state and local government levels,” she added.
While INEC has faced challenges in the past regarding device performance, the Anambra governorship election presents another critical opportunity to demonstrate its technical preparedness and meet set standards. The successful deployment and use of the 7,000 BVAS devices will be a key indicator of the Commission’s readiness for the 2027 general elections.