Former INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu has explained that voter accreditation machines used during elections operate offline and do not require internet connectivity to verify voters, noting that internet is only needed later for result uploads.
Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has clarified how voter accreditation machines function during elections in Nigeria.
Yakubu explained that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used on Election Day does not depend on internet connectivity to verify voters. According to him, the device is designed to operate offline during the accreditation process.
He noted that the machine stores necessary voter data locally, allowing it to identify and accredit voters through fingerprint or facial recognition without needing to connect to a network.
“The machine on Election Day doesn’t rely on internet to accredit voters, it works offline,” Yakubu stated.
He further explained that internet connectivity is only required later, particularly for uploading election results to the INEC server after voting has been completed.
“The machine on Election Day doesn’t rely on internet to accredit voters, it works offline”