Voters in Edo State, yesterday, commended Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections in the state, which recorded large turnout of voters.
Voters in wards and units visited by The Guardian expressed satisfaction with INEC, especially the use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS).
Speaking with our correspondent shortly after casting his vote, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and former governorship candidate in Edo, Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (rtd), hailed INEC for improvement in the elections, saying the BVAS made the exercise seamless.
Airhiavbere, who voted about 10 a.m. in Garrick Memorial College in Oredo Council, said though BVAS was slow in processing voters’ information, the election was “very peaceful and successful.”
He said: “BVAS was slow but very successful. The entire voting process has been seamless so far.”
Others, including two frontline candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Valentine Asuen,
and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, vying for the Edo South Senatorial seat, applauded INEC for the peaceful elections, saying the turnout of voters was impressive.
Iduoriyekemwen said INEC lived up to expectations, but noted that the ad hoc staff should be well prepared for future elections, particularly on the use of BVAS.
“The ad hoc staff should be well trained on Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), which is apparently new to them. They need to know how to use the BVAS because they were slow and almost didn’t start the election in time in my polling unit, as I voted by almost 11 a.m.,” Iduoriyekemwen said.
Meanwhile, some eligible voters in Benin City, expressed worry over their inability to locate their polling units after being relocated from their previous voting centres by INEC.
Others, however, expressed displeasure with INEC over late arrival of personnel and voting materials in their centres within the Benin metropolis.
A public affairs analyst, Mr.Agharese Idubor, who spoke with The Guardian, said the challenge in identifying and locating poling units for voting by eligible voters, who were relocated from their previous voting centres without any prior notice,
was worrisome.
He added that persons, who had their polling units moved to other centres, would be disenfranchised by the development.
Idubor, however, commended INEC for the peaceful and hitch-free exercise, noting that BVAS was efficient.
Idubor, who voted at 9.30 a.m. in Olua Primary School, Ward 7 in Egor Council, described the election as the most peaceful election, devoid of violence, financial inducement and vote-buying.
The voting centres visited recorded large turnout of voters with the election going on peacefully with security agencies, on the ground.
