Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo and some opposition figures have raised concerns over malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines during the senatorial and House of Representatives by-elections in the state on Saturday.
The governor, who voted at Ward 2, Unit 1, Udomi Primary School in Esan Central, arrived at 9:45 am and was accredited at 9:52 am. Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, Okpebholo said the BVAS delay was frustrating voters.
“Well, I just voted. You can see the frustration. The BVAS is just too slow. It takes too long before you can get accredited. I think INEC needs to look into this. So far, so good, the feelers I’m getting are good,” the governor said.
At Ekiadolor Primary School in Ovia North-East, Peoples Democratic Party chieftain Otote Famous also complained that many eligible voters were yet to vote because of BVAS problems.
“A good number have voted but over 20 persons as at 10:00 am have not been able to vote because the BVAS is malfunctioning. INEC officials have been managing the BVAS. Since they started the machines have been having issue. We have complained to the officials here to do something but they told us that it has been reported to their office,” Famous said.
Minority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly, Charity Airobarueghian Ighodala, praised the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of the exercise in his polling unit at Ward 4, Ekiadolor Primary Healthcare Centre. However, he noted that the polls were marked by low turnout.
“This election as expected is not like the general election. The low turnout is due to palpable voters’ apathy. There is a very low level of participation by eligible voters. They are not coming out, this is due to probably to the outcome of the September 21, 2024 governorship election and inadequate publicity of the by-election,” Ighodala stated.
