Elderly voters in Nimo, Njikoka LGA, faced delays after BVAS machines failed to capture their faces.
INEC officials said the issue was due to facial changes, not network problems.
Several elderly voters at Ezienwelu Polling Unit 001, Nimo Ward 2, in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State were left stranded on Saturday after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) failed to capture their faces during accreditation.
Many of the affected men and women, some in their seventies, arrived as early as 7 a.m. to cast their votes in the ongoing Anambra governorship election but were unable to complete accreditation due to repeated technical failures.
A 76-year-old voter, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Okafor, said that although officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) arrived around 8 a.m., accreditation did not begin until about 30 minutes later. According to her, the process was moving slowly because the machines could not recognize the faces of many elderly voters.
“They asked us to sit down because the machines were not capturing our faces. They said it could be that our faces have changed and that they would try using thumbprints,” she said. Mrs. Okafor added that many voters had remained calm, hoping the issue would be fixed soon, but some believed the challenge might be due to poor network connectivity.
However, one of the polling officers at the unit, who spoke anonymously, clarified that the issue was not related to network failure. “The BVAS does not operate with a network. It likely failed because the facial features of the elderly people have changed. We are working to sort it out, and if it persists, they will vote through thumbprinting,” the officer explained.
Despite the setback, voting continued peacefully at the polling unit as of 12:20 p.m., with younger voters being accredited and allowed to vote without major issues.
Today’s governorship election in Anambra features 16 candidates from various political parties, including the incumbent, Professor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who is seeking re-election.
