THE Center for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has reported that late arrival of election officials to polling units, and BVAS malfunctioning characterised the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The Centre disclosed this in a press statement on Saturday.
The organisation said it deployed 60 observers to 32 states. The observers will provide real-time field reports throughout the day until the polls close and results are announced.
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CJID said its observers noted that only 15 per cent of the polling units observed started election processes before 8:30 am.
The earliest accreditation started by 7:40:00 am, and the latest, 12:30 pm.
CJID also said its observers noted cases of BVAS malfunctioning, which led to difficulties in accrediting voters in the early hours of Saturday. The states affected are Oyo, Lagos, Borno and Lokoja.
“Only 15 per cent of the polling units observed started election processes before 8:30 a.m.; about 64 per cent began between 8:31 am to 11:00 am, and 21 per cent started after 11:00 am. The earliest time recorded for accreditation was 7:40:00 am, and the latest was 12:30 pm.”
The statement also noted that assistive devices for people with disabilities were not provided in some polling units in Kwara, Niger and other states.
Beloved John is an investigative reporter with International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
You can reach her via: [email protected]