Abuja - Problems with new technology
,extension
to the presidential election in Africa's
most populous nation, Nigeria, and
renewed Boko Haram violence hit the
knife-edge vote.
The Islamist militants were suspected of
killing seven in separate attacks in
northeastern Gombe state, including at
polling stations, while on Friday, 23
people were beheaded in Borno.
Also read: Voters brave Boko Haram
bullets to cast ballots
President Goodluck Jonathan was the
most high-profile victim of the glitches
with handheld readers, which scan
biometric identity cards to authenticate
voters to help cut electoral fraud.
The 57-year-old, who is seeking a
second term of office, was forced to
abandon his attempt to accredit for the
ballot in his home town of Otuoke,
Bayelsa state, after the device
repeatedly failed.
He was then accredited by hand and
later voted but said afterwards: "As
head of state, I don't blame anybody, I
think the problem is national."
The Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) accepted there had
been "challenges" with the technology
in "many" places that had forced polling
officials to suspend the process.
INEC information commissioner Chris
Yimoga said he could not give a figure
on how many people were affected,
with voters also reporting the late and
even non-arrival of election officials.
"The problems are not in all the states of
the country but in a few states and each
of these (resident electoral
commissioners) have been informed."
People in the affected areas will go back
to the polls on Sunday, INEC said.
"This is very sad indeed," Peter Ogbuoni,
a 31-year-old civil servant, said of
Jonathan's problems as he waited to
vote in Otuoke in the oil-producing
southern Delta.
"If the president could spend more than
30 minutes without being accredited, I
wonder how INEC will claim to have
conducted a credible election?"
Polls attacked
The Boko Haram threat has dominated
the election campaign, with the Islamist
militant group's leader Abubakar Shekau
having threatened to disrupt the vote.
A spate of suicide bombings and attacks
on "soft" targets such as markets and
bus station raised fears about the safety
of voters and led to stringent security
measures to be put in place
countrywide.
The rebels, who have recently been
pushed out of captured territory in the
restive northeast by a four-nation
military coalition, appeared to hold good
to that pledge by attacking Gombe state.
At least seven people were killed when
suspected Boko Haram gunmen
launched separate attacks in the
neighbouring villages of Birin Bolawa
and Birin Fulani, the town of Dukku and
nearby Tilen village.
The first three attacks saw shots fired at
voters at polling stations and election
materials were burned.
An election official, who requested
anonymity, said: "We could hear the
gunmen shouting, 'Didn't we warn you
about staying away from (the)
election?'"
The beheadings happened in Buratai on
the eve of voting, a nurse in Biu and
lawmaker Mohammed Adamu, who
represents the town some 200
kilometres (125 miles) from the Borno
state capital, Maiduguri.
Voters turned out in force in Maiduguri,
which has been repeatedly hit in the
insurgency that has left more than
13,000 dead and some 1.5 million
homeless.
Civilian vigilantes swept voters, many of
them women widowed by the violence
or separated from their husbands, with
hand-held metal detectors.
"I am ready to cast my vote at whatever
cost," said Tandalami Balami, who fled
the recently liberated town of Gwoza to
a camp in Maiduguri.
Abuja - Problems with new technology
,extension
to the presidential election in Africa's
most populous nation, Nigeria, and
renewed Boko Haram violence hit the
knife-edge vote.
The Islamist militants were suspected of
killing seven in separate attacks in
northeastern Gombe state, including at
polling stations, while on Friday, 23
people were beheaded in Borno.
Also read: Voters brave Boko Haram
bullets to cast ballots
President Goodluck Jonathan was the
most high-profile victim of the glitches
with handheld readers, which scan
biometric identity cards to authenticate
voters to help cut electoral fraud.
The 57-year-old, who is seeking a
second term of office, was forced to
abandon his attempt to accredit for the
ballot in his home town of Otuoke,
Bayelsa state, after the device
repeatedly failed.
He was then accredited by hand and
later voted but said afterwards: "As
head of state, I don't blame anybody, I
think the problem is national."
The Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) accepted there had
been "challenges" with the technology
in "many" places that had forced polling
officials to suspend the process.
INEC information commissioner Chris
Yimoga said he could not give a figure
on how many people were affected,
with voters also reporting the late and
even non-arrival of election officials.
"The problems are not in all the states of
the country but in a few states and each
of these (resident electoral
commissioners) have been informed."
People in the affected areas will go back
to the polls on Sunday, INEC said.
"This is very sad indeed," Peter Ogbuoni,
a 31-year-old civil servant, said of
Jonathan's problems as he waited to
vote in Otuoke in the oil-producing
southern Delta.
"If the president could spend more than
30 minutes without being accredited, I
wonder how INEC will claim to have
conducted..www.news24.com.ng/Elections/News/Technical-problems-Boko-Haram-hit-general-election-20150328

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