BREAKING NEWS: INEC Orders Extension Of Voting To Sunday, March 29 [TWEETS]
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended voting during the Presidential and National Elections to Sunday, May 29, 2015 in some problem polling unit.
It directed all Resident Electoral Commissioners in the country to conduct election on Sunday in areas where there were hitches with card readers accrediting voters.
This morning, President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan were not accredited using the card reader because 4 different machines failed to recognise their PVCs. The first couple left the polling unit and later returned to be manually accredited.
It is still unclear what went wrong at the polling unit in the President’s home town of Otuoke, Bayelsa State.
The Chairman of INEC Committee on Information and Voters Education, Chris Iyimoga, has addressed the media at the Media Centre of the National Collation Centre, Abuja, saying with some hitches in some parts of the country, there was no way the Presidential and National Assembly Elections could be concluded today (Saturday).
He said: “Each REC has been informed to conduct election on Sunday where there are hitches with accreditation or voting. I cannot say exactly the number of states affected but the problems are not in all the states.”
On his part, National Commissioner Igbani said: “No one can really say what went wrong in Otuoke but the machine or the card readers could not capture the fingerprints of the President and the First Lady. Where such a situation, we had to use manual system.”
INEC also released this information via its news twitter handle. See tweets below.
#BREAKING 1) INEC has been monitoring field reports on the accreditation process since commencement this morning
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 2) Whereas the process has gone well in several places, in some others it has encountered some challenges esp the card readers
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 3) Consequently, accreditation has been slow in many places and has not commenced at all in some others #Nigeriadecides
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 4)Even though the guidelines for the 2015 general elections provide that where card readers fail to work and cannot be replaced..
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 5) ..Elections in such PUs will be postponed to the next day.
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 6) The scale of the challenge we have observed has necessitated a reconsideration of the provision of the guidelines
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 7)The Comm has therefore decided that in PUs where card readers fail to work, the Presiding Officer shall manually accredit voters
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 8) The Presiding Officer shall mark the voters register upon being satisfied that the person presenting a PVC is the owner
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 9) Notwithstanding, in PUs where accreditation was suspended to the next day in accordance with the guidelines.. Cont'd
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 10) Cont'd.. arrangements will be made for voters to vote tomorrow, subject to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
#BREAKING 11) The Comm reassures the public that it will thoroughly investigate what happened while it stays committed to credible elections
— INEC Alert (@INECAlert) March 28, 2015
