The Peoples Democratic Party candidate for Akure North/Akure South Federal Constituency in Ondo State, Babatunde Faro, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct an audit of the 2023 general election and address identified shortcomings ahead of the 2027 polls.

Mr Faro made the call while speaking with journalists in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Tuesday.

He said INEC must improve its electoral processes and ensure that the choices of voters are respected in future elections.

Faro raises concerns over IReV, BVAS

The PDP candidate specifically cited problems encountered with the commission’s electronic results viewing portal, IReV, and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System during the 2023 election.

Mr Faro said the failures contributed to confusion during the election and urged INEC to ensure that similar problems do not recur in 2027.

“We don’t pray for what happened during the last presidential election to happen. When IREV stopped working, BVAS was not working, and we had a lot of chaos.

“I hope by now INEC shall have done an audit of the last election and corrected every error that we noticed. We might not be able to have a 100 per cent perfect election, but if we can have something in the range of 95, we’ll have said we’ve done well,” he said.

PDP candidate urges compliance with Electoral Act

Mr Faro also urged INEC to comply with relevant provisions of the Electoral Act concerning the publication of the electronic register of voters.

He expressed hope that outstanding issues surrounding the voters’ register would be resolved before the 2027 general election.

Faro promises transparent representation

Speaking on his plans for the Akure North/Akure South constituency, Mr Faro promised to provide open, transparent and accountable representation if elected to the House of Representatives.

He said his priorities would include empowering youths and women, creating platforms for constituents to express their concerns, and attracting Federal Government projects and infrastructure to the constituency.

“That is what Akure will get: open, transparent, accessible representation at the National Assembly if I’m elected,” he said.