Several elderly voters participating in Saturday’s Ekiti State governorship election were unable to complete accreditation after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System failed to recognise their facial features and fingerprints in parts of the state.
The incidents were recorded at Ward 4, Unit 1 and 2, Ijigbo, Ado Ekiti; Ward 3, Unit 6, Osagburu, Ikere Ekiti; and Unit 3, Eyelori, Ward 2, Iyin Ekiti, among other polling units.
Some of the affected voters, who spoke with The PUNCH, said they arrived early and were attended to by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, but were later unable to vote after repeated attempts to accredit them failed.
An 86-year-old voter, Aliyu Sunday, who arrived early at Ward 4, Unit 1, Ado Ekiti, was unable to vote after the BVAS reportedly failed to capture both his facial image and fingerprint.
Another voter, identified as Mary Ajagbanla, said to be about 120 years old, also experienced a similar challenge at Ward 2, Unit 3, Iyin Ekiti, as the device failed to authenticate her identity.
Ajagbanla, while speaking with The PUNCH, expressed frustration over the situation but insisted she would remain at the polling unit in hope of casting her vote.
“I arrived here around 9 am. But I was told the machine couldn’t read my face. I was told to wait.
“I will wait. I won’t leave until I vote. I will be patient. I have been voting for long. I can remember I voted during Adebayo (When Adeyinka Adebayo) was governor. I voted 4 years ago, too,” he said.
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