Headline

Missing Voter Names As CSO Releases Mock Accreditation Report

Published

3 years ago

February 11, 2023

Editor

A Civil Society Organisation, YIAGA Africa, has published its findings on the mock accreditation exercise recently conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the general election.

INEC conducted the mock accreditation in some parts of the country on February 4.

Among the observations noted by YIAGA Africa was the issue of missing names on the voters’ register.

The CSO highlighted in its report its observations on the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, uploading of result sheets to the viewing portal, presence of security officers and party agents, and voter turnout, according to a report by The Cable.

“At least four polling officials were present in the polling units where the mock exercise held with an average of one female official. Security personnel were also present in 82 per cent of the polling units,” the report partly read.

“Party agents for the APC were present in 61 per cent of polling units, party agents for the PDP were present in 56 per cent of polling units, party agents for the LP were present in 22 per cent of polling units, the NNPP party agents in 13 per cent of polling units, the SDP party agents in nine per cent of polling units and party agents for APGA in eight per cent of polling units,” the report added.

The report stated that the BVAS functioned properly in 98 per cent of polling units, while it malfunctioned in two per cent. The glitches were, however, fixed.

“In 98 per cent of polling units, the BVAS functioned properly. However, in two per cent of polling units, the BVAS malfunctioned, and it was fixed. For instance, the BVAS malfunctioned in Zinaria International Sch, Mararaba PU (25-04-11-111) in Karu ward of Karu LGA in Nasarawa, Tsamiyan Gwamna PU (08-04-01-007) in Balbaya ward of Bayo LGA in Borno, Sarkin Noma, GDSS Dakka PU (34-02-09-007) of Gang Dole ward in Bali LGA, Taraba and S/Gari Jaka Mai Famfo/Kofar PU (36-08-06-007) of Kungurki ward in Kaura Nomoda LGA Zamfara. The malfunctioning of the device did not significantly disrupt the process,” it said.

Missing names were also reported with voters in 11 per cent of polling units, whose names were not found on the voter register and the BVAS denied accreditation.

“Yiaga Africa observers reported cases of missing names of the voter register. In 11 per cent of polling units, voters whose names were not on the register of voters and the BVAS were denied accreditation.

“55 per cent of observers indicated they were very satisfied with the conduct of the mock exercise, 40 per cent of observers reported they were satisfied and, four per cent of observers indicated they were not satisfied with the conduct of the mock accreditation exercise,” it added.

The report further stated, “Of the 36 states and the FCT, only 15 states uploaded data on the IReV during the mock accreditation. The states include Abia, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Ondo, Rivers, Plateau, Oyo, Taraba and Sokoto.

“Only 82 Polling units uploaded the total number of accredited voters on the BVAS, to the IReV portal. All the 15 states that uploaded mock result sheets on the IReV also transmitted accreditation data except Oyo, Plateau, Edo and Ebonyi states. Of the 94 result sheets uploaded, only 16 result sheets were clear and readable.

“Yiaga Africa observed discrepancies in the total number of accredited voters uploaded by the BVAS and the total number of accredited voters recorded on the mock result sheets.”

Yiaga Africa recommended the following: that INEC should make its report on the BVAS testing public; notify voters via text message, emails or phone calls on migration of polling units; proper education of electoral officials on recording results to avoid discrepancies; and for INEC to ensure that all BVAS devices are in top condition before deployment for the general election.

Headline

Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Clashes Escalate After Alleged Air Strikes

Published

2 days ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

Afghanistan’s Taliban forces launched armed reprisals against Pakistani soldiers along the shared border on Saturday, accusing Islamabad of carrying out air strikes on its soil, senior officials from several provinces said Saturday.

On Thursday, two explosions were heard in the Afghan capital and another in the southeast of the country. The following day, the Taliban-run defence ministry blamed the attacks on Pakistan, accusing its neighbor of violating its sovereignty.

“In retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul,” Taliban forces are engaged “in heavy clashes against Pakistani security forces in various areas” along the border, the Afghan military said in a statement.

Islamabad did not confirm that it was behind Thursday’s attacks, but called on Kabul “to stop harbouring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) on its soil.”

The TTP, trained in combat in Afghanistan and claiming to share the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban, is accused by Islamabad of having killed hundreds of its soldiers since 2021.

Taliban officials from Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost, and Helmand provinces — all located on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan — confirmed that clashes were ongoing.

“This evening, Taliban forces began using weapons. We fired first light and then heavy artillery at four points along the border,” a senior official in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, told AFP.

“Pakistani forces responded with heavy fire and shot down three Afghan quadcopters suspected of carrying explosives. Intense fighting continues, but so far, no casualties have been reported,” he continued.

– Uptick in violence –

In recent months, TTP militants have intensified their campaign of violence against Pakistani security forces in the mountainous areas bordering Afghanistan.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to expel militants who use Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, an accusation denied by authorities in Kabul.

The TTP and its affiliates are behind most of the violence — largely directed at security forces.

Earlier this year, a UN report said the TTP “receive substantial logistical and operational support from the de facto authorities”, referring to the Taliban government in Kabul.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament on Thursday that several efforts to convince the Afghan Taliban to stop backing the TTP had failed.

“We will not tolerate this any longer,” Asif said. “United, we must respond to those facilitating them, whether the hideouts are on our soil or Afghan soil.”

Earlier Saturday, the TTP claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in several districts in northwest Pakistan that killed 20 security officials and three civilians.

AFP

Headline

Taliban Attacks Kill 23 In Northwestern Pakistan

Published

2 days ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Pakistani Taliban on Saturday claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in several northwestern districts that killed 20 security officials and three civilians.

The attacks, which included a suicide bombing on a police training school, were carried out on Friday in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

Militancy has surged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the withdrawal of US-led troops from neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021 and the return of the Taliban government in Kabul.

Eleven paramilitary troops were killed in the border Khyber district, while seven policemen were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the gate of a police training school, which was followed by a gun attack.

Five people, including three civilians, were killed in a separate clash in Bajaur district, security officials told AFP on Saturday.

The Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attacks in messages on social media. The group is separate from but closely linked with the Afghan Taliban.

The attacks came hours after Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of “violating Kabul’s sovereign territory”, a day after two explosions were heard in the capital.

Pakistan did not say if it was behind the blasts in Kabul, but said it had the right to defend itself against surging border militancy.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to expel militants using Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, an accusation that authorities in Kabul deny.

The TTP and its affiliates are behind most of the violence — largely directed at security forces.

Including Friday’s attacks, at least 32 Pakistani troops and three civilians have been killed this week alone in the border regions.

AFP

Headline

US Threatens To Sanction Countries That Vote For Shipping Carbon Tax

Published

2 days ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The United States on Friday threatened to impose sanctions and take other punitive action against any country that votes in favor of a carbon tax on maritime transportation to be implemented through a UN agency.

“We will fight hard to protect our economic interests by imposing costs on countries if they support” the Net Zero Framework, said a joint statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts at the departments of energy and transportation.

Members of the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) are set to vote next week on the adoption of the Net Zero Framework (NZF) agreement aimed at reducing global carbon emissions from the shipping sector.

Washington, however, described the proposal as imposing “a global carbon tax on the world.”

Since returning to power in January, US President Donald Trump has reversed Washington’s course on climate change, denouncing it as a “scam” and encouraging fossil fuel use by deregulation.

In the statement, Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration “unequivocally rejects” the NZF proposal.

They threatened a range of punishing actions against countries that vote in favor of the framework, including: visa restrictions; blocking vessels registered in those countries from US ports; imposing commercial penalties; and considering sanctions on officials.

“The United States will be moving to levy these remedies against nations that sponsor this European-led neocolonial export of global climate regulations,” the statement said.