Data Protection Issues in the Management of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) in Nigeria

Abstract

Section 153 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (the Constitution)
established the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise, undertake, and
supervise elections in the country.1The Constitution280 further empowered INEC to make rules for
the regulation of its procedure and ensure the effective discharge of its functions. Section 148 of
the Electoral Act, 2022 (the Act) also empowers INEC to issue regulations, guidelines, or manuals
for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Act and for its administration. Pursuant to
the powers vested upon it by the Constitution and the Electoral Act, INEC issued the Regulations
and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022 (the Regulation) and the Manual for Election
officials 2023 (the Manual). Section 41(1) of the Electoral Act provided that INEC shall provide
suitable boxes, electronic voting machine or any other voting device for the conduct of elections.
The Act281 further stated that to vote, the presiding officer shall use the smart card reader, or any
technological device prescribed by INEC for the accreditation of voters. The Bimodal Voters
Accreditation System (BVAS) came into being by virtue of these provisions of the law and it is the
technological device adopted by the INEC in accrediting voters in Nigeria. This paper is a
discourse on the data protection issues that could arise in the utilisation and management of the
BVAS.