Ila Local Government, Osun State – Frustration boiled over at the Ojude Ala I polling unit in the Iperin Registration Area on Saturday as a malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) left over 260 registered voters stranded, with only 75 able to cast their ballots by midday.
The polling unit has a total of 342 registered voters, but as of 12:40 p.m., just 22 percent had been accredited and voted, according to the voter register seen by our reporter. The remaining voters were left waiting in exasperation as technical failures repeatedly disrupted the process.
Comrade Olaniyan Bamiduro, a member of the local chapter of the National Road Transport Workers’ Union, lamented that the BVAS had broken down three times since accreditation began.
“The BVAS has broken down three times. If not for this problem, I believe everybody would have been attended to by now,” Bamiduro said.
An INEC ad hoc official confirmed the delays, stating that efforts were ongoing to resolve the technical glitches and attend to affected voters. However, the repeated malfunctions have sparked growing anxiety among voters, who fear further delays may mar the electoral process.
Despite the mounting frustration, many remained at the polling unit, hopeful that the issues would be fixed and they would eventually be allowed to exercise their franchise.
