Anambra Polls: BVAS Glitches, Vote-Buying Allegations Stall Voting In Onitsha, Idemili Nigeria

Reports of technical hitches involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) disrupted voting activities in several polling units across Onitsha and Idemili Local Government Areas of Anambra State on Saturday.

The development caused delays in the commencement of the exercise in affected centres, Patriotic Insights News reports.

At Polling Unit 001, Fegge Ward 5, St. John Primary School, Onitsha LGA, voting had yet to begin as of 10 a.m. due to BVAS malfunction.
Ad hoc officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) expressed frustration over the delay, even as a technician was dispatched from the Registration Area Centre (RAC) to examine and replace the faulty device.

A similar situation was reported around 10:30 a.m. at PU 008, Ward 07, Nnobi, Idemili South LGA, where an agent of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) lamented that the BVAS failed to read some voter cards. The presiding officer confirmed that efforts were underway to resolve the glitch.

In PU 012, Uruagu Ward 1, Nnewi North LGA, the BVAS reportedly failed to accredit some voters through both fingerprint and facial recognition, with elderly voters said to be the most affected.

Meanwhile, allegations of vote buying surfaced in parts of Idemili and Onitsha LGAs.

At PU 003, Ward 8, Nnobi, Idemili South LGA, a party agent was seen handing slips of paper to voters after they cast their ballots and taking down their details. A similar trend was observed at PU 010, Ward 3, Port Harcourt Road, Fegge, Onitsha, where voters reportedly collected a green slip after voting and presented it to another agent, who recorded their names.

In Lilu (Ward 18, PU 01 and 07), APGA agents were observed writing down voters’ names after they had voted, while in Umuleri II, Ama Mgbede (PU 13, Anambra East LGA), agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were said to be recording voters’ details in exchange for promised tokens and instructing them on how to vote.

Observers from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) reported that party agents were positioned close to the cubicles, monitoring the process and recording names.

Similar incidents were also reported at PU 001, 002, and 003, Orie Eziagu Ward in Orumba South LGA, where both APC and APGA agents were seen taking notes of those who had voted.

INEC’s Chairperson, Joash Amupitan, had earlier assured that the Commission was fully prepared to deliver a peaceful, transparent, and credible governorship election that reflects the will of Anambra people.