Victor EzejaFOLLOWING the malfunctioning of the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the period closing time for voting in the ongoing Anambra governorship poll to 4.00 pm.
This is to enable many eligible voters to cast their votes
There have been reports of glitches experienced with the use of the INEC BIVAS machine which slowed the accreditation process in different polling units across the state.
In a statement issued by Nwachukwu Orji, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, on Saturday, the INEC said the extension applies to areas where polling units were opened after the commencement period of 8:30 am, adding that by 4:00 pm any voter still on the queue would be allowed to vote.
The electoral body called for patience, assuring the electorate that no voter would be disenfranchised and all votes cast would be counted and properly collated.
The resident electoral commissioner urged all INEC staff to comply with the directive to avoid denying any intending voter the opportunity to vote.
“The extension of time arose out of several field reports that voters have had problems with accreditation. The Commission is currently investigating the reason the accreditation devices, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), have worked perfectly in some Polling Units, but not in others.
“In some of the cases, it would seem that this resulted from software glitches. Our technicians have already built an update to the devise software to prevent further challenges. The update is currently being installed in the concerned BVAS and we request voters, candidates, and agents to be patient and allow our technical staff to solve the problem,” Orji stated.
The commission noted that transportation challenges adversely affected their deployment of electoral materials to some locations, hence the late arrival of materials in those places. This it blamed on the failure of some transporters mobilised to convey materials, who suddenly didn’t turn up on account of insecurity.
The electoral body appealed for calm by members of the public as it was working hard to address the situation.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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