The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced its intention to conduct mock accreditation of voters in preparation for the forthcoming gubernatorial election for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states slated for November 11, 2023.

This announcement was contained in a press release issued by Sam Olumekun, who serves as INEC’s National Commissioner and chairman of, the Information and Voter Education Committee, on Monday.

Details of the mock accreditation exercise

According to the statement released by INEC, the commission will conduct a mock accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and upload polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

The date scheduled for the voter education exercise is Saturday 14th October, from 8:30 A.M. to 2:30 A.M., in the three states simultaneously.

The statement further revealed that a maximum of three polling units in each Senatorial District have been identified in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa states for the mock accreditation exercise.

That is, the voter education exercise will be conducted in 28 polling units across 9 Senatorial Districts of the three states.

INEC noted that the lessons that would be learnt from the exercise will be taken into consideration to make sure the November 11 election is seamless.

In line with this, INEC appeals to registered polling units in the selected polling units to turn up with their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) for the exercise on October 14th.

How registered voters in these states can identify the polling centres for the upcoming voters education exercise
The statement urged registered voters to visit the INEC official website and various social media handles to find full details of the selected polling units, including their locations by Local Government Area (LGA), Registration Area (RA)/Ward, Delimitation Code and number of registered voter.

Below is the full press statement:

PRESS RELEASE
MOCK ACCREDITATION OF VOTERS FOR THE FORTHCOMING OFF-CYCLE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS

• 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 (BVAS) and upload polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
• The test run will take place simultaneously in the three States on Saturday 14th October 2023 from 8.30 am to 2.30 pm.
• 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 District and 27 polling units.
  Lessons learnt from the exercise will be taken into consideration in ensuring a seamless process on Election Day.
• Full details of the polling units, including their locations by Local Government Area (LGA), Registration Area (RA)/Ward, Delimitation Code and number of registered voters have been uploaded to our website and social media platforms.
• The Commission appeals to registered voters in the selected polling units to turn up with their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for the exercise. The public is advised that this is strictly a test accreditation exercise and not the actual election.