Delta Bye-election: INEC Machines Didn’t Flop, Of 84 Devices, Only 8 Had Glitches – Delta Rec

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Delta State for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Monday Udoh-Tom has reacted to report that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) deployed for Isoko South constituency 1 bye-election, are failing to accredit eligible voters.

BIGPENNGR had reported that INEC newly introduced Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the election, is reportedly rejecting Permanent Voters Card (PVC) of eligible voters.

But Udoh-Tom who spoke in a telephone conversation with BIGPENNGR, said that though there was some technical glitches experience in some polling units, the exercise has been smooth in most part of the constituency.

He disclosed that the technical problem experienced in some areas which has been sorted out, came from just eight BVAS out of 84 that were deployed saying that to generalize that the machines flopped in the ongoing election was unfair.

He said “out of 84 polling units, 8 BVAS had issues. Four were as a result of wrong positioning of the cameras. It means that the voter position for snapping was noisy, meaning, the background of the pictures does not conform With BVAS requirements”.

According to him, four of the machines were later replaced to enable voting to commence, maintaining that no one was disenfranchised in the polling units that experienced the technical problem from the device.

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Recalls some eligible voters who trooped out enmass to exercise their civic responsibility had raised the alarm that they could not be accredited as the new accreditation device failed to recognize their Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

One of our correspondent monitoring the election reports that the machine failed accreditation at Unit 15 Oleh Ward 1 and Unit 8 ward 1 as at time of filling the report.

At Unit 15 ward 1, an angry voter told our correspondent that he was shocked to discover that his name was not found in the voter’s register.

He said that his card could also not be accredited by the machine.

The development could lead to the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters across the constituency, he said.

“I came here to vote only to discover that my name was not even in the register. The Machine could not even accept my card. Since morning, only very few persons have been able to vote”, an angry voter who gave his name as Ibomor Emmanuel, said.

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The Delta constituency bye-election is adjudged as a test case for INEC preparedness to deploy it’s new technology for the 2023 general election and Anambra State Governorship election which is around the corner.