Explainer: Difference Between BVAS And IReV

When this report will be published, voting will have ended in most polling units across the country. What then is the difference between the two most used acronyms in this election cycle, BVAS and IREV?

As the conversations around BVAS and IREV festered for too long during the presidential election to the point that the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi mistook both for each other during his recent interview on Channels Television, it is expedient that we explain the novel terminologies.

The Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) is a technical device for both voter accreditation and the e-transmission of results for collation.

With the BVAS, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can perform seamless fingerprint capturing and facial authentication of potential voters.

The BVAS is an upgrade to the smart card reader, deployed during the 2015 elections.

Sources told AllNews Nigeria that the BVAS technology is an artificial intelligence solution that does not even require an internet connection to function effectively.

According to the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, “The INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal is a dedicated web portal for the public to view polling unit results as soon as they are finalised on Election Day."

Before the 2023 general elections, the commission said it had used the transparency-enhancing technology for the gubernatorial election in Osun State and other polls.

"In particular, the uploading of Polling Unit results on the IReV portal has been deployed in 105 constituencies where the Commission conducted off-season elections since August 2020.

"The result can still be viewed on the portal, making the IReV an invaluable repository of election results in Nigeria,” the INEC chairman had said.

In essence, it should be stated that the BVAS and IREV are two different technologies deployed to ensure accountability by INEC.

Whether or not the goals of the technologies have been achieved is debatable.

But it is also important that Nigerians who either want to argue for or against INEC and the technologies are aware of the distinctions. 

As gubernatorial and state assembly election results trickle in, Nigerians should be cognizant and ever-responsible.