Late turnout of materials, voters delay Rivers LG election

Late turnout of election materials and voters was observed in several polling units of Woji Ward 6 in Obio/Okpor of Rivers, during Saturday’s local government council election.

The correspondent monitoring the election reports that as at 10:45 a.m., election materials has yet to arrive at the polling units.

At polling units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 16, 29 and 30, accreditation has not started, with only a few voters present, waiting in anticipation to cast their ballots.

Some voters, along with a few party agents, were seen discussing the elections while awaiting the arrival of materials.

There was no visible presence of security agencies at the polling units due to a Federal High Court order restraining the Police and the State Security Service (DSS) from participating in the election.

Mr David Mathew, the Presiding Officer of Polling Unit 29 at Alcon Gate in Woji, said that his team arrived at 6:30 a.m. but was still waiting for the election materials.

“We are still expecting the awaiting the materials; as soon as they arrive, accreditation and voting will commence,” he said.

A voter, Mr Victor Jaja, expressed hope for a smooth and transparent process despite the delay in the arrival of election materials.

He attributed the low voter turnout to the political crisis leading up to the election.

Another voter, who identified herself as Adeki, expressed confidence in the process and hoped the election would reflect the will of the people.

“The environment has been calm since I arrived here; this gives me confidence that the process will be smooth,” she added.