Voting at a prominent polling unit in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, was thrown into disarray on Saturday after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) developed repeated technical faults, leaving hundreds of voters stranded in lengthy queues.
The disruption occurred at Polling Unit 018, situated in the open space in front of the Federal Polytechnic. The unit, which has 884 registered voters, opened on schedule with accreditation and voting kicking off at approximately 8:30am.
Proceedings began without incident, but the exercise soon ran into trouble when the BVAS device started malfunctioning, significantly slowing accreditation and creating a growing backlog of voters waiting to cast their ballots.
By the time journalists arrived at the polling unit around 11:45am, long queues had formed as electoral officials struggled to manage the accreditation process amid the persisting glitches. Voters vented their frustration, saying the faulty device had forced them to wait for hours under the scorching sun.
Despite the delays, many voters refused to leave, determined to exercise their franchise in the governorship election.
As of the time of this report, accreditation and voting were still ongoing at the unit, albeit at a slower pace. Electoral officials were said to be working to resolve the technical issues and ensure that all eligible voters were accredited to participate in the poll.
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