By our Reporter
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State has said that voting in the governorship election in the state may extend to Sunday in some polling units.
INEC also said it has started receiving information on electoral problems that trailed the Saturday governorship election in the state.
Nkwachukwu Orji, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), gave this update while briefing journalists on developments in the Anambra election.
“We are now receiving information on areas where there were resistance to deployment by the commission, disruptions to the election process that already commenced, where we have sustained malfunctioning of the accreditation device BVAS and where we are unable to deploy as a commission,” he said.
Mr Orji said in each case listed, the commission’s regulations and guidelines and other existing laws will be used to address the issues.
The commissioner earlier announced an extension of the closing time for voting exercise to 4 p.m. to cushion the effects of the late arrival of INEC ad-hoc staff and materials for the election.
Although Mr Orji said the extension is peculiar to polling units that did not start voting at 8:30 a.m., several polling units in Awka South had closed polls as of the time of the announcement.
Mr Orji also said in cases of sustained malfunction of the BVAS, the “Presiding Officer must inform the voters and polling agents that accreditation and voting for the affected polling unit shall continue tomorrow (Sunday) or at another time determined by the Commission.”
Giving updates on further developments, the commissioner said “where elections held, collations of results will proceed and the applicable EC 40 G instrument will be used in line with the provisions of the electoral law.”
“If there are areas that there is a determination that collation of results cannot take place at the RA centres, collation of results will now take place at the LGA collation centres,” he said.
He added that the polls will not close until the last person who joined the queue has voted.