The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in today’s Governorship election in Ekiti State, Bisi Kolawole, has hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission for introducing the Bimodal Voter Authentication System into the electoral process.
Kolawole said the technology has improved the credibility of the poll and imbued political actors and voters with more confidence in the electoral system.
The PDP candidate spoke with newsmen in Efon Alaaye, Efon Local government area after voting around 8.35am at Ward 008 unit 001.
He said: “There is great improvement with the application of BVAS. The accreditation and voting were done simultaneously. The process has been accelerated by this. There is an improvement by INEC.
“I am not saying there won’t be manipulation, but the security is doing fine, so as of now, we are having a peaceful process.
“My fears are the general ones that people can become violent as reported in some cases in the past. Though the security men are on ground to respond to such situation”.
Also, the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Prof Adio Folayan, who voted at ward 04 unit 004 in Efon Alaaye, praised INEC for the exercise.
“You could see people exercising their voting rights unhindered. The situation is clam. There is efficiency in the application of BVAS.
“I voted within five minutes. But in ward 7, the machine is not working and we are seeking replacement and we believe INEC will respond to this,” he said.
Ifaki is peaceful-Senator Adetunmbi
Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi has expressed satisfaction with the presence of heavy security in Ifaki.
“This is not a new phenomenon, at every election you should expect the presence of security agents. I’m satisfied with what I’m seeing, you can see Ifaki is peaceful. Their presence has enhanced the peace of this community. Any technological innovation that would enhance the digitization of the electoral process is welcomed,” he said.
IFaki-Ekiti
No phones in Voting Area: An officer of the DSS just told us to steer clear from voting area.
He said that immediately after taking our shot, we should keep our camera away from the voting center.
Meanwhile, Erelu Kemi Elebute-Halle, candidate of Action Democratic Party, has denied stepping down from the race.
She said, “it is a lie concocted by those afraid of my rising profile. Having come this far, it would be cowardly of me to back out. I’m set to win this election. In another 30 minutes, I will be joining my supporters to cast my vote.”