By Cyril Mbah, Abuja.
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–Pix(above): INEC Chair, Prof Mahmood Yakubu
Federal Capital Territory [FCT] political stakeholders have appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] to regularly update and test modern appliances likely to be deployed for future elections before the polling days, to reduce last-minute failures of such equipment.
The stakeholders, who spoke at separate interviews, stated that thorough testing of election equipment such as BVAS, and other data capturing machines as well as proper training of electoral staff on how to handle the machines prior to election dates, will make the electoral process smoother and stress free.
Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin Giri, the All Progressives Congress Chairman-elect told reporters that the initial hitches experienced in the accreditation of eligible voters during the recently concluded Federal Capital Territory [FCT] polls, would have been avoided with adequate maintenance of the machines and training of electoral staff.
He explained that reports of delays in several polling booths should not have arisen because the electoral umpire used the BVAS in the Anambra State election and noticed the problems which emanated from its deployment.
APC Chairmanship candidate in Kuje Area Council, Alhaji Hamidu Sarki Gaube [Talban], while responding to questions on the performance of the electronic data capturing machines, regretted that many of the equipment could not capture the details of voters and largely contributed to delays at polling centres and frustration among voters.
According to the APC flag bearer, voting was avoidably delayed in many polling booths even though several eligible voters waited patiently until midday for their data to be captured to enable them vote without success.
On his part, the FCT Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] Chief Sunday Zakah, lamented that many polling booths were inactive during the Saturday elections because of malfunctioned BEVAS machines and other data capturing equipment.
Zakah called for better performance on the part of the INEC in future elections, stressing that the recurrence of the same problems like delays in deployment of staff to election centres, shortage of voting materials, failure of vital data capturing machines, among others, gives room for electoral malpractices and does not reflect well on the image of the electoral body.SHARE THIS